
Class_P.N4-l.U_ 
Book—JB-lASl 
Copyright N° 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



i^IK 



KEY TO EXPRESSION. 



FRANCIS JOSEPH BROWN, 

Principal of the Southern Normal School of Oratory, 
Bowling Green, Ky. 



MIRIAM WILLIAMS BROWN, 

Teacher of Elocution and Oratory in Hamilton College, 
Lexington, Ky. 



nashville, tenn.: 

Gospel Advocate Publishing Company. 

1901. 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Cot-ita Received 

OCT. 28 1901 

Copyright entry 

CLASS O/XXc NO 

COPY 3. 






Copyright, 1901, by 
Francis Joseph Brown and Miriam Williams Brown. 



PREFACE!. 



The present treatise is a product of the authors' expe- 
rience in the classroom and on the platform. Its design is 
fourfold — viz., (1) to stimulate the student to independent 
thought, (2) to broaden his knowledge, (3) to deepen his 
sympathies, and thus (4) to elevate the standard of the 
elocutionary art. 

Many persons begin the study of elocution with the im- 
pression that they have no thinking to do; that some one 
else has thought out everything for them ; and that, there- 
fore, they have only to follow instructions. This is a great 
mistake. No study is more comprehensive than that of 
expression, for it is the study of human nature in its infin- 
ite variety of manifestations. A knowledge of expression, 
it may be truly said, must be conditioned by one's knowl- 
edge of human nature, for the evolution of oratory moves 
on parallel lines with the evolution of man. Of all the 
subjects which a student pursues in acquiring an educa- 
tion, that which causes him to think, to create new ideas, 
which gives him a higher ideal of life, is the one which is 
most beneficial both to himself and to those with whom 
he comes in contact. To express greatness is to be great. 
In order to advance toward greatness, one has to recognize 
his personal limitations and defects, endeavor to overcome 
them, and to conform to an ideal t}'pe. 

As an aid to broadening the sympathies, a diagram to 
illustrate the operations of the mind or soul has been given. 
In order that the student may more easily discriminate 
between the various phases of the operations of the mind 



4 Preface. 

and to help him to determine the right use of each, there 
are given brief explanations taken from Webster, Crabb, 
and other authorities. In some cases it has been necessary 
to make alterations by way of addition or omission in or- 
der to make the explanations at once clear and such as 
should naturally come within the limits of the present 
work. The subdivisions of the operations of the mind 
given here do not, of course, cover all the passions, feelings, 
thoughts, etc., of which. the mind is capable; but a large 
number of those which occur most frequently are given 
in the hope that they will be sufficient to materially aid 
the student, and that, having studied these, he will be en- 
couraged to investigate further for himself and to aim al- 
ways at accuracy of expression. The work is so arranged 
that, by studying the diagram and selecting from the fol- 
lowing exercises those which correspond to the operations 
of the mind, the student can easily ascertain his strong 
and weak points, not only in voice and gesture, but also in 
mental and moral development. This knowledge will be 
valuable to the instructor, for he cau so direct his students 
as to develop not merely their talents, but their entire na- 
ture. The examples have been left unclassified under the 
subdivisions in order to give the much-needed practice of 
discrimination. The study of short examples has a great 
advantage over the method of beginning with lengthy se- 
lections, as it concentrates the attention on a particular 
phase of thought. Much valuable time is thus gained. 
A careful study of short examples disciplines the mind to 
analyze readily and to adapt itself to the ever-varying 
shades of thought and feeling, making a preparation of 
reading comparatively easy. 

Two persons having exactly the same requirements are 
seldom or never founds This every teacher worthy the 



Preface. 5 

name knows. "The Key to Expression" is arranged in such 
a way a.s to enable the teacher to select work that will assist 
the pupil in overcoming his defects as well as strengthen 
his natural bent. If he lacks the power of sympathy or the 
faculty of humor, that is all the greater reason why he 
should try to cultivate them. There always will be one 
line of work which he can do better than any other; as 
regards public delivery, it may be well to restrict himself to 
this. But the tendency is to attempt no other class of 
reading than that corresponding to the reader's individual 
development. This tendency should not be yielded to. If 
the student should never be able to read other styles well 
enough to give them before the public, there is no reason 
why he should not try to develop along other lines than 
his own specialty. Such an effort will, at the least, help 
him to appreciate the reading of others. This in itself 
adds to the pleasure of life, besides strengthening his char- 
acter and exercising a beneficial effect on his particular 
kind of work. The art of expression, in its highest sense, 
requires the broadest culture and sympathy. We must 
learn from study and observation to go beyond our per- 
sonal experience, to think thoughts and feel sentiments 
to which before we were strangers; otherwise our work 
must always be limited and narrow. It is not sufficient 
to be able to act or read with the " simplicity and uncon- 
sciousness of a child " nor with " the naturalness of ordi- 
nary conversation." These principles may serve in a de- 
gree to overcome a stilted and unnatural expression, but 
they are not the final test of art. Our ideals are ever be- 
yond us, and are never embodied in any class of individuals. 
As we progress, so do our ideals become higher. 

Care has been taken to select only such examples and 
readings as represent the best in our literature. It is hoped 



o Preface. 

that by this means " The Key to Expression " will be of 
value in cultivating among students a taste for pure lit- 
erature and pure thoughts, and thus to elevate the standard 
of public reading. In time past too much attention has 
been given in schools and colleges to prepare pupils to 
make a show at commencement and other public occasions. 
It is hoped that a new era is at hand in which true prog- 
ress will be made the object of the art, instead of using the 
art as a means to gratify vanity. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

The Study of Elocution V 

A Plea for Sincerity 12 

The Speaking Voice 14 

Volume 14 

Quality 16 

Force 16 

Rate of Utterance 18 

Monotony 19 

The Adaptation of Sound to Sen^e 20 

Compass 21 

Regarding the Use of the Vowel Scale 21 

Vowels 22 

Consonants 31 

Union Sounds 34 

Exercises in Articulation 3*7 

Words Commonly Mispronounced 44 

Physical Culture 48 

Gesture 58 

Analysis 92 

Operations of the Mind or Soul in Expression 100 

Operations of the Emotions 101 

Operations of the Affections 102 

Operations of the Sentiments 103 

Operations of the Intellect 104 

Operations of the Will 105 

Definitions of the Emotions 106 

Definitions of the Affections 119 

Definitions of the Sentiments 129 

Definitions of the Intellect . .*. 137 

Definitions of the Will 149 

Examples of the Emotions L58 

Examples of the Affections 192 

Examples of the Sentiments 230 

Examples of the Intellect 252 

Examples of the Will 293 



THE STUDY OF ELOCUTION. 



Before beginning the study of any subject it is but rea- 
sonable to consider the benefits of its acquirement — not 
what it is worth in dollars and cents, but in physical, moral, 
and intellectual development. The only true yalue we can 
place on education is the increase of power it gives us to 
help others. All knowledge acquired with such an end 
in view is elevating and ennobling, and is a blessing not 
only to the individual, but to the people with whom he 
comes in contact. Knowledge gained with the purpose of 
using it for selfish ends, for the position it will give in so- 
ciety, or for the money it will bring, is a false education, 
which has a detrimental effect on the individual and all 
who come within his influence. 

Considered from a standpoint of health only, elocution 
is well worthy of our attention. As a means of strengthen- 
ing and developing the body, especially tbe lungs, there is 
no exercise more healthful, and for this reason it is often 
recommended by physicians to people suffering from pul- 
monary troubles. It is of almost equal value to the pro- 
fessional or business man. Whether in social or business 
life, the awkward person, with a high, shrill voice or thick, 
fat tones, indistinct enunciation, incorrect or slovenly ar- 
ticulation, is unable to compete with one who has a grace- 
ful presence; clear, musical voice; and good articulation. 

There can be no doubt that there are many talented 
people who are unknown even in their own communities, 
simply because they lack the power to express themselves. 
The measure of one's ability to express the good that is in 



8 Key to Expression. 

him, thereby moving others to higher thinking and living, 
is the measure of his value to society. Speech has always 
been the great molder of public opinion, and " to-day, as 
ever, eloquence is universal queen." Knowledge, it is said, 
is power. That saying is true just in proportion as a man 
has the ability to apply his knowledge. This is shown by 
the fact that a man of ordinary attainments, who has 
learned the art of " making the most " of what he knows, 
invariably takes precedence over the man of wider culture 
and deeper education who has not acquired this art. Who 
can estimate the power of the individual who is able to 
give his knowledge its most potent expression in speech and 
action? Quintilian said: "An indifferent discourse well 
delivered is better received by a popular audience than a 
good discourse badly delivered." Formerly the study 
of expression was much neglected in our schools and col- 
leges, but we are learning to appreciate Quintilian's asser- 
tion, and to-day a well trained voice and a healthy, re- 
sponsive body are conceded to be quite as necessary in a 
practical education as a highly developed intellect. 

Speaking of the value of the study of oratory, Prof. John 
Stewart Blackie, of Edinburgh University, said: "A most 
important matter for every young man is the art of a pol- 
ished, pleasing, and effective expression in public speak- 
ing. The great thing is to begin early and avoid the mis- 
take that so many cultured men make in these days in their 
public speaking, which is less eloquent than that of the 
most untutored savage. Accomplished speaking is an art 
for which a master of elocution and special training are 
necessary." " The attempt to speak in public without pre- 
vious training," says Sir Morrel Mackenzie, " is like try- 
ing to climb the Matterhorn without preparation, and is 
just as sure to end in failure, if not disaster." He further 



Key to Expression. 9 

says : " I am persuaded that if there were a thoroughly- 
qualified instructor in elocution in every school, our noble 
English tongue would lose its undeserved evil reputation 
for harshness of sound, much torture would be spared the 
general ear, much weariness to our auditory nerves (un- 
naturally strained to catch the sense drowned in a stream 
of half -articulate gabble), and much suffering would be 
saved to throats ruthlessly stretched and cramped and in 
every way abused in the fierce struggle to deliver the mes- 
sage which the speaker has in him." These opinions from 
two such eminent men serve to show the place that this 
study holds in the judgment of educated people. 

To no class of men and women is a training in the art 
of delivery of more importance than to teachers, lawyers, 
and clergymen. The ordinary intelligent person, with a 
well trained voice and a practical knowledge of the laws 
of delivery, is sure of success, while fear and failure are the 
constant companions of those who rely on untrained pow- 
ers. The old idea that the study of elocution makes one 
unnatural is fast disappearing. True, the old methods of 
teaching expression were mechanical, and in many cases 
the student was injured more than benefited. In no de- 
partment of education has more rapid progress been made 
in recent years than in the art of expression. By mod- 
ern methods the student is able to acquire in a few months 
a more practical knowledge than under the old systems was 
possible in years of labor. Instead of being hampered by 
mechanical rules, he is taught to think and to act for hiim 
self; to understand and obey, not arbitrary rules, but nat- 
ural laws. He is' guided by principle, not by opinion. In 
proportion as the student is free from the bondage imposed 
by self-consciousness he becomes easy, natural, and forci- 
ble in his delivery. 



10 Key to Expression. 

We have begun to understand that true education is not 
a process of cramming the mind with facts ; but, as the 
word suggests, is a drawing out and developing of all the 
faculties which are latent in man. Elocution has to do 
with the development of those powers which enable one to 
express the truths which his awakened faculties, have made 
it possible for him to perceive. Every one possesses this 
expressive power to some degree. Some have the art of 
being good conversationalists; some, the art of reading; 
some, of acting, lecturing, or oratory. There is no rea- 
son why each should not develop his talent and bring it 
as near to perfection as possible. 

As it is in childhood that incorrect habits of speech are 
formed, habits which the adult often spends months, and 
sometimes years, in overcoming, it is in childhood that 
the study of elocution should be begun. Let a child bo 
taught in its infancy to speak distinctly and correctly, and 
half the difficulty the adult now has to contend with will 
disappear. The Greeks understood the importance of this^ 
and at the time when their civilization was at its greatest 
height they would not intrust the care of their children 
to those who spoke incorrectly. Even to-day the accent, 
pronunciation, and modulation of the voice mark the dif- 
ference between the cultured and the ignorant classes. 

Students spend much time and labor in seeking to ac- 
quire a knowledge of foreign languages, both living and- 
dead. It is well that they should do so. Yet is it not 
strange that so much time should be spent in this way, 
when the beauty, grandeur, and power of the spoken Eng- 
lish language remains, to a large extent, unrecognized? 
If the students who waste their time securing a smattering 
of French (for in an astonishingly large number of cases 
only a smattering is acquired, and is, therefore, of no real 



Key to Expression. ll 

value) would spend this time in realizing the possibili- 
ties of our own language, it would be infinitely more profit- 
able. Who does not covet a grammatically correct use of 
English, not simply in order that he may conform to the 
recognized standards of usage, but because the correct 
forms are clearer, more forcible, and more euphonious? 
The power acquired by a correct vocal utterance is quite 
as marked and important. 

Another respect in which the study of expression is prof- 
itable is that it gives a keener insight into literature than 
is possible from any other training. One of the foremost 
teachers of the day declares that the most effective way of 
teaching literature is to read it to the pupils properly. So 
much can be expressed by the voice that any explanation 
fails to make clear. This is a mere suggestion of the large 
field of usefulness that lies open to the scientifically 
trained reader both in the schoolroom and on the platform. 
He may lead the masses to appreciate the highest prose 
and poetry, just as in some countries they appreciate good 
music because they hear it constantly. Public readers are 
often heard to complain that audiences care only for being 
amused or for bombastic rant. If this be the case, whose 
is the fault ? Are not those readers who have given noth- 
ing but an inferior class of literature largely responsible 
for this ? It is a mistake to assume that the masses could 
not be brought to appreciate something better. The fact 
that really good readers or actors are applauded, not 
only by the few, but by the many, proves the pos- 
sibility of readers successfully presenting the highest class 
of literature. The elevating influence which the reader 
may exert is beautifully expressed in Longfellow's lines 
on hearing Mrs. Kemble read from Shakespeare. The 
sonnet forms a fitting conclusion to a plea for the study 
of elocution: 



12 Key to Expression. 

O precious evening, all too swiftly sped, 
Leaving us heirs to amplest heritages 
Of all the best thoughts of the greatest sages, 

And giving tongues unto the silent dead! 

How our hearts glowed and trembled as she read, 
Interpreting by tones the wondrous pages 
Of the great poet who foreruns the ages, 

Anticipating all that shall be said! 

O happy reader, having for thy text 

The magic book, whose Sibylline leaves have caught 
The rarest essence of all human thought! 

O happy poet, by no critic vext, 

How must thy listening spirit now rejoice 
To be interpreted by such a voice! 



A PLEA FOR SINCERITY. 

Sincerity is the first test of greatness. Affectation is 
the mark of inferiority. The sincere person may not al- 
ways be great, but the great person is always sincere. Af- 
fectation is closely connected with hypocrisy. That which 
impresses the honest person deeply, he will express with 
conviction, earnestness, and enthusiasm. There is no room 
for affectation in the person who is deeply moved. The 
affected person thinks only of himself, and tries to impress 
his personality on his hearers. To this end he affects to 
feel that which he does not feel and to be that which he is 
not. Locke says that affectation is an awkward and forced 
imitation of what should be genuine and easy, wanting the 
beauty that accompanies that which is natural. The sin- 
cere person does not seek to attract attention to his per- 
sonality. He is absorbed in his endeavors to convey to 
others that which he believes to be true. He wishes his 
thoughts, not his personality, to predominate in the minds 
of his hearers. In proportion as he can make others un- 
conscious of him, except as a means of expressing thoughts 



Key to Expression. 13 

and sentiments, is he successful as a reader, actor, or 
speaker. 

Elocutionists are often accused of being affected, of pos- 
ing and striking attitudes on the platform. While this 
cannot be said of the great readers of our day, nor of any 
day. it assuredly can be said of very many who belong to the 
mediocrity. Their affectation is not due to the fact that 
they are elocutionists (for they never had any real love for 
the art itself), but because they wished to display them- 
selves; they took up the study of elocution as a. means of 
attracting the attention of others. With this class gesture 
is important as a means of showing a pretty arm or pretty 
rings, and a beautiful dress is more important than a beau- 
tiful thought. Having nothing to express, they recite 
words in order to display their charms. They cannot be 
said to put their personalities before their sentiments, for 
they have no sentiments, except of the crudest kind. It 
is impossible for such people to interpret the thoughts of 
others, for they have none of their own. 

It is well that those who contemplate a public career 
should first examine their motives for doing so. Let one 
satisfy himself that he has something to say and the ability 
to say it : otherwise, he has no right to claim the time and 
attention of the public. 



I. VOICE. 



THE SPEAKING VOICE 

Sound and speech are the two greatest means of express- 
ing thought and emotion. For artistic purposes it is neces- 
sary that the voice should be cultivated; so that it will con- 
vey ideas as perfectly as possible. 

Breath is the material out of which the voice is produced. 
All voice is made on exhalation, the column of air passing 
out from the lungs being used for this purpose. The 
breath, being converted into sound by the vocal chords, 
fills the pharynx and reverberates through the cavities of 
the head and chest. This reverberation is called " reson- 
ance." The exercises in breathing are most beneficial for 
producing this quality. They not only expand the nasal 
cavities, but, the muscular system, having gained control 
of the breath, sends it out in a regular, even stream, thus 
producing finer and more even vibrations. The most rapid, 
fts well as the most effective, way to train the voice is to 
practice the elementary sounds, separately first, then in 
words, and finally in sentences. To give truly artistic ex- 
pression, each sound must be properly formed and given 
its full value in the pronunciation of a word. 

VOLUME. 

Physically, the volume of the voice depends upon the 
size and shape of the mouth and throat, and the amount of 
breath one can convert into vocality. To acquire physical 
volume, practice breathing exercises and the vocal exercises 
given on the following pages. 



Key to Expression. 15 

In studying the organic formation of the sound it will 
be seen that some vowels have a great deal more vol- 
ume than others, and that the volume depends solely on 
their formation, and not on the meaning of the words. 
The word sun has a comparatively small volume, but a 
large meaning. Words may have a large or small vol- 
ume, independent of their meaning. 

Psychologically, the volume of the voice depends on the 
amount of meaning conveyed in the utterance of the 
word. Speakers, as a rule, bring out only a very small 
proportion of the meaning of the words used. Let the 
mind be so deeply concentrated on the thought first that- 
one not only sees and feels it himself, but makes others see 
and feel it also. To illustrate this, let us take the word 
ocean. How often is it pronounced in such an insig- 
nificant manner as to convey no more than the word mill- 
pond? Whereas the manner in which the word ought 
to be pronounced should convey all the majesty and grand- 
eur of the real object and call up these qualities in the 
mind of the listener. 

Volume of voice, without meaning, is mere noise. The 
less meaning in the voice, the noisier it is. These are the 
voices that one longs to get away from. What is more 
disagreeable than to hear one playing the piano whose only 
idea of music is the amount of noise he can make? Yet 
the same instrument, handled by an artist, gives the great- 
est delight, not merely because of a mechanical expertness, 
but because he regulates the tones according to what he 
wishes to express. In the same way a noisy voice is disa- 
greeable, because it is sound without meaning. The voice 
may be made an instrument of expression just in propor- 
tion as its owner develops mentally. To cultivate the vol- 
ume of the voice, practice selections containing sentiments 
of sublimity, beauty, and grandeur. Every thought either 



16 Key to Expression. 

contracts or expands the mind. Vicious thoughts debase 
the mind ; noble thoughts elevate the mind and give beauty 
to the voice. As the student tries to give expression to 
lofty sentiments, he will find his voice developing in volume 
in proportion to his conception of the thought. The fol- 
lowing lines illustrate the fact that sublime thought de- 
velops volume of voice : 

O thou eternal One, whose presence bright 
All space doth occupy, all motion guide! 

Unchanged through Time's all-devastating flight, 
Thou only God, there is no God beside. 

QUALITY. 

There are two main causes that may make the voice pure 
or impure. One is physical; the other, mental. From a 
physical standpoint, a pure quality of voice is a result of 
control of the respiration, so that no more breath is allowed 
to escape in the production of a tone than is necessary for 
its formation, and on a perfect cooperation of the vocal and 
articulatory organs ; from a mental standpoint, a pure qual- 
ity of voice is the result of pure thought. To have a grand 
voice, one must express grand thoughts. Mean, low, and 
vicious thoughts make the voice coarse, harsh, and cramped. 
The cultivation of the voice is inseparable from the cul- 
tivation of lofty sentiment. Vocal gymnastics, though 
helpful in their way, do not constitute vocal culture. 
Quality is to the voice what character is to the individual. 

FORCE. 

Owing to the difference in the formation of words, some 
require more force or energy to pronounce them than oth- 
ers. Those that have broad, open sounds, such as the 



Key to Expression. i 1 

words broad, rock, etc., require more energy than such 
words as sin, dear, little, etc. 

Between physical force and mental force one should care- 
fully distinguish. The force of expression should be gov- 
erned by sentiment. It is only physical passions, such as 
anger, jealousy, vanity, etc., that are expressed by phys- 
ical force. Depth of feeling is in inverse ratio to physical 
force. In the interpretation of pathos it is not the loud 
ranting that is effective, but the quiet intensity of feeling. 
The people who feel most deeply make the least demonstra- 
tion of their grief. True grief is subdued in expression 
even to the extent of shrinking from the gaze of others. 
Depth of feeling gives depth of expression, not loudness. 
There is often good reason to suspect the sincerity of those 
who lament the loudest. The hypocrite loves to be seen 
praying in public places ; the sincere man enters his closet 
and shuts the door. One need not proclaim one's sincer- 
ity; it will be felt without noisy demonstration. Noisy 
grief is sometimes sincere, but always transient. A child 
who has lost its mother cries loudly for its loss. Though 
it is honest for the time being, it soon forgets its grief. 
The father, who appreciates the loss, bears it without a 
moan, perhaps ; but the very quietness with which he speaks 
and acts evinces the greater sorrow. The student should 
not mistake force for feeling. 

One of the most common faults of public speakers is the 
weakening of the voice toward the end of the sentence. 
This rises from lack of control of the breath. Too many 
words are uttered on one inspiration ; and as the lungs are 
emptied, the voice becomes devitalized. To overcome this 
defect, practice controlling the breath ; first, on words, then 
on sentences. 

Nothing will make an audience lose interest in a speaker 



18 Key to Expression. 

more quickly than a lack of vitality. Xo matter how good 
the thoughts may be or how beautiful the language in which 
they are couched, if the words lack physical life, one feels 
as if they were but pallbearers to the thought. 

RATE OF UTTERANCE. 

The rate of utterance should be governed by the senti- 
ment expressed. There are two extremes against which 
we should guard: one, a wearisome slowness, giving un- 
necessary prominence to trivial ideas ; the other, a rapidity 
of utterance which does not give the hearer an opportunity 
to grasp one idea before another is offered his attention, 
so that the- hearer is confused, half the ideas not being un- 
derstood or even heard. The first fault is due to a lack of 
knowledge of the " eternal fitness of things." To appre- 
ciate the thought is the only remedy. The last-named 
fault may have the same cause or may be occasioned by 
nervousness. If the latter be the case, time and practice 
will overcome the difficulty. 

Vocal movement is governed by the same law that gov- 
erns physical matter. All motion is in proportion to the 
mass moved. Thoughts are things, and have their differ- 
ent degrees of density the same as material objects. Ex- 
treme grief will bend the body the same as a weight placed 
upon the shoulders. Light thoughts give a light, tripping 
movement of the voice; profound thoughts give a slow 
movement, with intensity in proportion to their depth. 
One would naturally dwell on such ideas as are implied in 
the words grandeur, strength, love, awe, because one's 
full conception of them is ever beyond his power of 
expression. Such sentiments as gladness, surprise, fear, 
will naturally take a rapid rate of utterance. Aside from 
the thought itself, the speaker's knowledge of it will govern 
his rate of utterance. 



Key to Expression. 19 

No better lesson in reading could be found than the fol- 
lowing lines from Pope's " Essay on Criticism : " 

When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw, 

The line, too, labors, and the words move slow; 

Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, 

Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the main. 

MONOTONY. 

There is no more common fault among speakers, readers, 
and actors than that of monotony. No one is quite free 
from it. The fact that day after day there is a sameness 
in man's business or profession tends to manifest itself to 
a greater or less degree in his speech and actions. So 
marked is this in certain vocations that when we meet the 
people we can almost tell to what profession they belong. 
Monotony is one of the greatest foes of effective speaking. 
Sometimes it is mistaken for character. The truth is, the 
greater strength of character one has, the less likely he is to 
be monotonous. Do we not see this in the writings of 
great men, who show both character and variety of ex- 
pression? No one would say Tennyson or Shakespeare is 
monotonous, though their style shows character; yet one 
might go to see a Shakespearean play that might prove 
monotonous. The grandest literature may be spoken with 
a sameness that kills the spirit behind it. 

This fault is caused by an inability to change rapidly 
from one sentiment to another or from one shade or degree 
of sentiment to a higher or heavier one. It is this state of 
mind that gives rise to personal hobbies. Qne phase of life 
is made more important than all others and given an un- 
due prominence. Readers very frequently get a general 
idea of a sentiment and fail to perceive the various shades 
which really constitute the beauty of it. It is the light 



20 Key to Expression. 

and shadow of the voice that show the artist, just as much 
as the light and heavy stroke of the pencil show the artist. 
Too much color of one kind spoils the effect in a picture. 
The same is true of reading. One who is able to analyze 
and appreciate the finest shades of thought and feeling, 
whose expression is not hampered by any vocal or physical 
defect, will never be tiresome. 

THE ADAPTATION OF SOUND TO SENSE. 

No one can appreciate the beauty and power of the Eng- 
lish language without seeing how wonderfully the sounds 
are adapted to the sense of the words in which they are 
found. A few examples will illustrate this correspond- 
ence of sound and meaning. The combination of sounds 
in the word mist, the m followed by short i, the s followed 
by t, combine in sound to suggest the appearance which 
the word conveys. In the word hot the aspirate h, followed 
by the short o and the explosive t, makes us realize the heat. 
The meaning of harmony is conveyed in the harmonious 
combination of sounds that make up the word. In the 
word rock there are the r, short o, and k, which, combined, 
give that strength to the word which the object suggests. 
The following words will more fully exemplify the adap- 
tation of sound to sense without further explanation : sun, 
splendor, glory, silver, violet, diamond, blue, jewel, melody, 
throb, organ, break, wretch, rush, roar. 

It will readily suggest itself to any one that the explosive 
consonants and short vowels represent one class of ideas, 
and that the long vowels and union sounds represent a dif- 
ferent class. The word violet, as commonly pronounced 
vi-let, has lost the sound and sense connection; but pro- 
nounce it properly, vi f o-let, and the beauty, freshness, and 
delicacy of the flower is retained in the word. When the 



Key to Expression. 21 

word diamond is pronounced correctly, di'a-mond, one can 
see the sparkle and elegance of the jewel, which are lost 
when the word is pronounced di-mund. 

Letters are much more significant than we imagine. As 
Ruskin pointed out, it is suggestive that we speak of a lit- 
erary man as a man of letters, not as a man of words. 

It could hardly be said that this adaptation of sound 
to sense is perfect, yet it is such that it makes the English 
language wonderfully expressive. 

COMPASS. 

Long e and broad a stand at opposite ends of the vowel 
scale, and govern the compass of the voice. All other vow- 
els take their place according to their degree of volume, 
the more closed vowels having less volume, and conse- 
quently being higher than the more open ones. 

It should not be understood from what has been said 
above that by acquiring a proper formation of the vowels, 
every one would have the same compass of voice. As the 
vocal anatomy of one person differs from that of another, 
the compass or range of voice must differ; but any voice 
can produce its highest- pitch on long e and its lowest on 
broad a. 

REGARDING THE USE OF THE VOWEL SCALE. 

The study of all art should be preceded by the study of 
all the laws and principles which underlie it. Certain me- 
chanical practice is essential to fit one for expressing ideas. 
It is necessary for the pianist to gain control of his hands 
before he can hope to make the tones of the piano express 
emotions and sentiments. There are persons who never 
go beyond the first stage to whom the most beautiful music 
is merely a mechanical exercise. For this defect neither 



22 Key to Expression. 

the teacher nor the art can be blamed. The singer or 
reader finds it necessary to have control of the voice and 
body before he can express his thoughts and feelings clearly 
and artistically. 

As a, means of gaining control of the voice, the vowel 
scale has been given. There are some, no doubt, who will 
object to it as being mechanical. Like the exercises that 
are necessary for the pianist, the vocal scale is useful to 
the reader or speaker in gaining control of the organs 
of speech. Years of experience in the classroom have 
convinced the authors of its value. It is no more mechan- 
ical to form the voice sounds properly than it is to learn 
to pronounce words properly. It would be deemed absurd 
to object to learning the correct pronunciation of words or a 
grammatical use of English on the ground that such knowl- 
edge would make the speaker self-conscious and unnatural. 
It is equally absurd to argue that learning to form the 
voice sounds correctly will interfere with individuality of 
expression. Like learning to walk, it requires attention 
at first, but, when acquired, is done without conscious ef- 
fort. When one has gained control of the voice, it is no 
longer necessary to think of the means whereby the control 
was acquired : on the contrary, when proper habits are es- 
tablished, the mind should then be directed to the thought 
to be expressed. 

VOWELS. 

In the evolution of sound into speech the vowels are the 
first of the elementary sounds to be formed. There is no 
definite time or order in their development, as their forma- 
tion depends largely upon the mental and physical condi- 
tion of the child. In training the voice the open vowels 
should be the first exercises. Children always form the 
open vowels first. Infants laugh and cry with the mouth 



Key to Expression. ^3 

wide open. At a later period of development a change 
takes place in the formation of the vowels ; the mouth 
closes on the vanish of the sound, with the exception of the 
short vowels, a, e, i, o, u, which are explosives. 

The first period shows a development more of the phys- 
ical than the intellectual life of the child. Its feelings, like 
those of the lower animals, are shown through what might 
be called the tone color of the vowel sounds. They are 
high or low, loud or soft, depending on its physical condi- 
tion. 

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE VOWEL SOUNDS. 

Vowels are to words what verbs are to sentences; they 
are the backbone of the language. There cannot be a word 
without a vowel any more than there can be a sentence 
without a verb. The proper formation and placing of the 
vowels in their relation to one another and to other ele- 
mentary sounds govern the modulation of the voice. 

The first step in vocal culture is to thoroughly mastei- 
the organic formation of all the elementary sounds. As 
the removal of all defects of speech depends on this step, 
its importance cannot be overestimated. 

FORMATION OF THE VOWELS. 

The vowel sounds are made solely in the larynx. This 
fact cannot be too strongly emphasized at the beginning. 
It is sometimes supposed that they should be formed with 
the articulatory organs. It is possible to do this, and the 
fact that it is possible has given rise to many absurd the- 
ories. There is considerable variation in the formation of 
the vowel sounds. Some are very large and open, as long 
o in the word old, and broad a, as in the word all. Some 
are small and closed, like long e in the word seen and short 



24 Key to Expression. 

i in the word in. In the formation of the smallest vowels 
the larynx is in its highest position, and in the formation 
of the largest vowels it is in its lowest position. Pro- 
nounce the words seen and awe. It will be noticed that in 
the former the larynx is highest, and that it is lowest on 
the latter. Long e and broad a stand at the opposite ends 
of the vowel scale, and, in regard to the formation of 
sounds, constitute the compass not only of the speaking, but 
of the singing voice. However, the compass of formation 
should not be confused with the compass of pitch. All 
the other vowels take their place in the scale according to 
their volume. The most closed sounds, such as e, u, are 
highest; and the most open sounds, such as a, o, oi, on, are 
lowest. 

There seems to be a great deal of misunderstanding as 
to the formation of the vowels and the relation they bear to 
each other. Even among those who speak authoritatively 
on the matter there is, to say the least, considerable con- 
fusion. When we are told that short e is often longer in 
quantity than long e,~we are at a loss to understand the au- 
thor's meaning. All the short vowels are incapable of pro- 
longation. Some of them are more abrupt than others, 
the abruptness being modified by the consonant or union 
sound that precedes the vowel. For example, the a in cat 
is more abrupt than in fat, because the k sound which 
comes before it in the word cat is explosive, while the con- 
sonant / in the word fat is capable of prolongation. In 
order to express the meaning of the words containing the 
short vowels, the vowels have to be pronounced abruptly. 
To drag or prolong them destroys the expression of the 
word. 

It should be carefully borne' in mind that the first exer- 
cises in the cultivation of the voice should begin, not with 



Key to Expression. 25 

examples in reading, but with the analysis of the sounds 
that compose speech. Much valuable time is lost by prac- 
ticing promiscuous examples. After the sounds have been 
mastered, practice on the selection may begin, but only on 
selections containing the noblest sentiments. Only grand 
thoughts can produce a grand voice. 



•26 



Key to Expression. 



TABLE OF THE VOWEL SOUNDS. 

The vowels in the table given below are arranged accord- 
ing to their organic formation. The ability to form the 
sounds as given in this scale gives the greatest possible com- 
pass, volume, and melody to the speaking voice. Practice 
the vowels in the order shown in the diagram, making the 
compass between e and a as great as possible : 



Long 


e as 


in seen. 


Coalescent 


ir ' 


' irritate. 


Short 


1 ' 


in. 


Coalescent 


er ' 


1 erse. 


Short 


e ' 


' end. 


Short 


06 " 


' took. 


Short 


u ' 


1 us. 


Long 


u. ' 


' use. 


Long 


60 ' 


' ooze. 


Coalescent 


ur ' 


urge. 


Long 


a ' 


1 aim. 


Short 


a ' 


1 am. 


Coalescent 


ar ' 


' arm. 


Italian 


a ' 


' alms. 


Intermediate 


a ' 


' ask. 


Long 


i ' 


' ire. 


Long 


6 ' 


' ore. 


Coalescent 


oi ' 


oil. 


Short 


5 ' 


odd. 


Coalescent 


or ' 


orb. 


Coalescent 


ou ' 


' out. 


Broad 


a ' 


' awe. 



Key to Expression. 2 

Let the stud out write the vowel scale arid apply it to 
the following words, as shown in the preceding diagram. 
The value of this practice is that it impresses on the mind 
the relation the sounds hear to each other : 

Speech, man, song, ask, bat, fame, large, run, men, light, 
dark, Tool', was, alms, grasp, band, hind, tip, all, burst, are, 
the, throne, roll, blue, wide, wealth, thou, state, and, which, 
slave, poor, my, shall, be, just, his, false, back, no, there, 
sun, soon, them, reign, bean, hough, cough, laugh, nymph, 
rhythm, moon, dust, loathe, broad, shape, nigh, years, hour, 
no w, knell, pulse, drum, pierce, from, world, sat, drop, 
calm, blast, storm, full, cool, tune, gold, aisle. 

There is a considerable difference in volume in the words 
given in the list above. This difference is caused by the 
vowel in the word. These words have no compass. 

The following list of words, although containing more 
than one syllable, are still devoid of compass, because they 
have the same vowel in each syllable. Like the foregoing 
list, some of these words have a great deal of volume, and 
others but little : 

Infinite, provoke, believe, papa, between, promote, in- 
vincible, rampant, emblem, advance, limpid, murmur, bon- 
bon, cocoa, prorogue, twilight, forego, ballad, willing, caval, 
fungus, sentence. 

It will be seen that words of two or more syllables, hav- 
ing the same vowel in each syllable, have no more compass 
than monosyllables, and that many monosyllabic words, 
such as all, morn, storm, broad, have more volume than 
many words of two or more syllables, such as deceive, infin- 
ite, invincible. 

Monosyllables have volume, but no compass. 

Words of two or more syllables, having the same vowel 
in each syllable, have volume, but not compass. 

"Words of two or more syllables, having a different vowel 
in each syllable, may have both compass and volume, these 
qualities being governed by the vowels in the word. 



28 



Key to Expression. 



EXERCISE. 
WORDS HAVING A DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF THE VOICE. 

The words in the following list have a descending vocal 
movement, the first S}<llable having a small, closed vowel; 
the second, a large, open one : 

Creator, befall, devout, restore, signior, implore, exalt, 
endow. 



e 


Cre 


Be 


De 


Re 


Sign 








ir 


















1 












Im 






er 


















g 














Ex 


En 


do 


ii 


















u 


ob 


















ur 


















a 


a 
















a 


ar 


a 


















a . . 


















1 








store 




plore 






6 


oi 


o 


tor 








ior 








or 


ou 






vout 










dow 


a 




fall 










alt 





Key to Expression. 



29 



EXERCISE. 
WORDS HAVING AN UPWARD MOVEMENT OP THE VOICE. 

Words in this list have an upward movement of the voice, 
the first syllable having a deep, open vowel. The voice 
ascends as the vowels in the other syllables decrease in 
volume. 

Austere, almighty, authority, augment, forgive, com- 
pete, convene, obsolete, volume, mountain. 



e 


stere 










pete 


vene 


lete 






ir . . . 






















1 . . . . 




ty 


ity 




give 










tain 


er . . . 






















e.... 








ment 














66 . . 






















u ... 
u . . . . 


















ume 




66 . . . 






















ur. . . 






















a 






















a 






















ar . . . 






















a 






















a . . . . 






















I 

6 




migh 












so 






oi . . . 






















5.... 












Com 


Con 


Ob 


Vol 




or . . . 






thor 




For 












ou . . . 




















Moun 


a 


Au 


Al 


Au 


Aug 















30 



Key to Expression. 

LONG VOWEL EXERCISE. 





e 


U 


oo 


a 


l 


5 


oi 


OU 


a 




as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


s 


see 


sue 


soon 


say 


sigh 


so 


soil 


sow 


saw 


t 


tea 


tune 


too 


tay 


tie 


toe 


toy 


town 


taw 


p 


pea 


pew 


pooh 


pay 


pie 


Poe 


poise 


pound 


paw 


f 


fee 


few 


food 


fay 


fie 


foe 


foil 


found 


fall 


k 


key 


cue 


cool 


Kate 


kind 


cone 


coy 


count 


call 


ch 


cheer 




choose 


chain 


chime 


chore 


choice 


chow 


chaw 


sh 


she 


shoe 


shoe 


shade 


shy 


show 




shout 


shaw 


th 


thief 


thew 




thane 


thigh 


thole 






thaw 


h 


he 


hue 


who 


hay 


high 


hoe 


-hoy 


hound 


haw 


wh 


wheat 


whew 




whey 


why 


whoa 








n 


nee 


new 


noon 


nay 


nigh 


no 


noise 


now 


gnaw 


m 


me 


mew 


moon 


may 


my 


more 


moiety 


mow 


maw 


1 


lee 


lieu 


loose 


lay 


lie 


low 


loin 


lout 


law 


r 


reel 




rue 


ray 


rye 


row 


roy 


rout 


raw 


d 


deer 


due 


do 


day 


die 


doe 


doit 


doubt 


daw 


y 


ye 


you 




yea 










yaw 


j 


jeer 


June 




jay 




Joe 


joy 


joup 


jaw 


V 


veer 


view 




vane 


vie 


vote 


voice 


vow 


vault 


th 


the 






they 


thy 


tho 




thou 




b 


be 


beauty 


boon 


bay 


by 


bow 


boy 


bound 


ball 


w 


we 




wound 


way 


wine 


woe 




wound 


wall 


g 


gear 


gew 


ghoul 


gay 


guy 


go 


goi- 


gout 


gall 



Key to Expression. 31 

CONSONANTS. 

The second period in the evolution of speech is marked 
by the formation of the consonants. As with the vowels, 
there is no definite time or order in their development. 
The consonants are purely breath sounds, and, except k 
and hj are formed in the front of the mouth by the tongue, 
teeth, and lips. They are the only elementary sounds that 
do not require the aid of the larynx in their production. 
Great care should be taken to form these sounds perfectly 
without wasting breath. Often more breath is wasted on 
a single aspirate than is necessary for the formation of the 
syllable or word in which it is found. 

Tt must not be supposed that no consonants are formed 
by children until all the vowels are perfected. Such is 
not the case. The vowels are the first to be used, and 
mark the physical development. The formation of the 
consonants is the beginning of articulate speech, and marks 
the intellectual development. 

The consonants are ten in number. In the following 
scale they are arranged according to their organic forma- 
tion, beginning with the smallest and ending with the larg- 
est. 

To get the proper formation of each consonant and un- 
ion sound, each must be tested by placing it after each of 
the vowels, as shown in the following exercise. Conso- 
nants and union sounds are modified by the vowel sound 
that precedes them. It is misleading to give words as 
hey words in which a consonant or a union sound begins or 
ends a word. No one word can demonstrate the proper 
formation of any particular element. For example, to 
give fin as the key word for the sound of / is not accurate 
if taken alone; for in such words as if and off there is a con- 
siderable difference in the formation of the sound /. When 



32 Key to Expression. 

pronouncing the word if, the lips are much closer together 
and are more compressed than when pronouncing the word 
off. On the latter the lips are much more open, giving a 
slightly different formation of the sound. It is erroneous 
to say that any one word will give the proper formation 
of any given sound. To make this clear, pronounce the 
word son g. This would give the proper formation of ng 
in all the words where it was preceded by short o, as long, 
throng, wrong, etc. ; but to say that the sound of ng in the 
word song is its proper and only formation is misleading, 
and is not an accurate analysis of the sound when preceded 
by the different vowels. Sing, sang, sung, song, give a 
wide difference both in the sound and formation of ng. In 
the word sing the sound of ng is high and fine, the tongue 
being pressed close against the roof of the mouth; in the 
word song the ng has not only a different formation, but a 
deeper resonance than the ng in sing. The vowel sound 
modifies both the formation and resonance of the consonant 
or union sound following it. 

CONSONANT EXERCISE. 

To acquire the proper formation of any consonant or 
union sound, giving it its varying degrees of formation, it 
should be practiced after each vowel, as shown in the fol- 
lowing exercise. For distinctness of enunciation this is an 
important exercise, for in no other way can the mastery of 
the various shades of the consonants or union sounds be 
attained : 



Key to Expression. 

CONSONANT EXERCISE. 



33 





s 


t 


P 


k 


f 


ch 


sh 


th 


h 


wh 




as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as iu 


e 
ir 


cease 


eat 


leap 
chirp 


eke 

dirk 


leaf 


each 


leash 


heath 
ginh 


he 


wheat 
whirl 


1 


miss 


it 


tip 


lick 


if 


itch 


dish 


with)( 


him 


which 


er 


erse 








serf 


search 




earth 


her 




g 


less 


let 


step 


peck 


deaf 


fetch 




death 


hem 


when 


66 


puss 


put 




look 






push 




hook 




ti 


us 


cut 


up 


luck 


tuff 


such 


mush 




hut 




u 


use 


lute 


dupe 


duke' 








youth 


hue 




6b 


loose 


loot 


hoop 




hoof 




douch 


tooth 


who 




ur 


purse 


hurt 




work 


surf 


lurch 




worth 


hurt 




a 


ace 


ate 


ape 


lake 


safe 


aich 




wraith 


hay 


whey 


a 


pass 


at 


tap 


lack 


raff 


latch 


ash 




hat 


whack 


ar 


parse 


art 


harp 


ark 


scarf 


arch 


harsh 


hearth 


hard 




a 


lass 














path 






i 


ice 


light 


ripe 


like 


life 








high 


why 


5 


dose 


oat 


rope 


oak 


loaf 


coach 




both 


ho 




oi 


joice 
















hoy 




5 


boss 


hot 


hop 


lock 


off 


botch 


bosh 


broth 


hot 


what 


or 


horse 


mort 




fork 








north 


horse 




ou 
a 


house 


out 




walk 




ouch 
watch 


wash 


mouth 







34 Key to Expression. 

UNION SOUNDS. 

The third period in the evolution of speech is marked by 
the formation of the union sounds. These are by far the 
most difficult of all the elementary sounds to form cor- 
rectly. This difficulty arises from the fact that they are 
not made by any one set of organs exclusively, but by a 
cooperation of the vocal and articulatory organs. By this 
combined action a new element is produced, which is differ- 
ent from either vowels or consonants, yet contains an ele- 
ment of each. Like the vowels and consonants, there is no 
definite time or order in their development. 

The melody and resonance of speech depends very largely 
on the proper formation of the union sounds. Some of the 
vowel sounds, such as a, e, i, o, u, and words containing 
both vowels and union sounds have great resonance, as 
hand, organ, volume, honor; but words composed entirely 
of vowels and consonants have little or no resonance and 
no music whatever. For example, ship, cuff, thought, 
saith. The union sounds are fifteen in number. They 
are arranged according to their organic formation, begin- 
ning with the high, nasal n and increasing in volume to 
the deep, guttural g. 



Key to Expression. 

UNION SOUND EXERCISE. 



35 



n 


- 


i 


r 


z 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


seen 


seem 


eel 


ear 


ease 




firm 


girl 


sir 


firs 


in 


him 


ill 




is 






earl 


her 


hers 


ten 


hem 


ell 
full 




says 


tun 


hum 


hull 




does 


tune 




yule 


pure 


use 


boon 


loom 


rool 


poor 


ooze 


burn 


worm 


furl 


purr 


burrs 


bane 


aim 


ale 


air 


rays 


ban 


am 


shall 




has 


barn 


arm 

alms 


Carl 


are 


bars 
as 


line 


dime 


file 


ire 


eyes 


own 


dome 


roll 


ore 


rose 


loin 




oil 


moire 


noise 


on 


from 


loll 






morn 


storm 




or 


wars 


down 




owl 


our 


rouse 


awn 




awl 




was 



ng 



as in 
seed 
bird 
bid 
herd 
head 
hood 
bud 
hewed 
rood 
word 
aid 
add 
hard 



ride 

rode 

devoid 

odd 

lord 

loud 

awed 



as in 
ve 



yearn 
yet 



you 



yea 



yarn 



yore 



sing 



sung 



sang 



song 



36 



Key to Expression. 

UNION SOUND EXERCISE. 



j 


zh 


V 


th 


b 


w 


g 




as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


as in 


e 


seige 


seizure 


eve 


seethe 




we 


league 


ir 
















1 






live 


with 


fib 


wit 


big 


er 


serge 




serve 




erb 


were 


berg 


6 


edge 


treasure 


seven 




ebb 


wet 


beg 


do 
















u 


budge 




love 


other 


hub 


won 


hug 


u 


huge 


usury 


you've 




tube 




bugle 


60 


rouge 




move 


soothe 


Rube 


wo© 




ur 


urge 




curve 






work 




a 


age 




rave 


bathe 


babe 


way 


vague 


a 


badge 




have 




gab 




bag 


ar 
a 


large 


azure 


carve 




garb 




bargain 


a 
















i 






dive 


tithe 


jibe 


wile 




6 




ambrosier 


rove 


loathe 


Job 


woe 


rogue 


01 
6 


lodge 




of 


bother 


job 


wot 


bog 


or 
ou 


gorge 
gouge 








orb 


war 
wow 


morgue 


a 












wall 





Key to Expression. 



37 



EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION. 

Indistinct and slovenly articulation is one of the greatest 
faults of speakers, both in public and private. The follow- 
ing exercises are designed to overcome this defect : 



nt 


as in ant 


rbdst 


as in barbed 'st 


nts 


" ants 


zlst 


" dazzl'st 


ndz 


" bands 


zldst 


11 dazzl'd'st 


rnd 


" burned 


knst 


" blacken'st 


rndst 


" burn'd'st 


kndst 


" black'nd'st 


zn 


" prison 


biz 


1 ' troubl es 


znst 


" imprison'st 


blst 


" troubl' st 


zndst 


" imprison 'd'st 


bldst 


" troubl'd'st 


nk 


" think 


zd 


" razed 


nks 


" thinks 


zdst 


" gazed 'st 


tikst 


" think'st 


zd 


" ])leased 


njd 


' ( ranged 


zd>t 


" pleased st 


ngd 


" banged 


rd 


i( tittered 


nkt 


" banked 


rdst 


" tittered'st 


ngth 


' ' length 


sht 


" flashed 


ngths 


" lengths 


drs 


" thunders 


knst 


" black'n'st 


spt 


" clasped 


kndst 


" blacken'd'st 


nts 


" plants 


rm 


" arm 


ksts 


" texts 


rms 


" arms 


rid 


" curled 


rmst 


" arm'st 


znt 


" pleasant 


rmdst 


" arm'd'st 


ftst 


" waft'st 


fist 


" trifl'st 


stst 


" boast'st 


fldst 


" baffl'dst 


nst 


" canst 


rvst 


" curv'st 


rbd 


1 ' barbed 


rvdst 


" curv'd'st 


nz 


" irons 


thst 


" wreath 'st 


ngs 


" lightnings 


thdst 


" wreath'd'st 


fm 


" seraphim 


glz 


' ' struggles 


rdst 


14 slumber'd'st 


gist 


•' struggl'st 


ftdst 


" waft'd'st 


gldst 


" struggl'd'st 


fdst 


" reef d'st 


▼1st 


" drivel' st 


gld 


" haggled 


vldst 


" drivel 'd'st 


lz 


' • sails 


bd 


1 ' orbed 


rdz 


" shepherds 


bdst 


" rob'd'st 


vz 


" behaves 



38 



Key to Expression. 



nkst as in thinkst 


kt 


as in attached 


ptst 


1 weptst 


zmz 


" spasms 


mst 


1 harm'st 


nths 


" months 


ngst 


' wrong 'st 


ngth 


" length 


nkldst 


1 twinkl'dst 


dth 


" breadth 


rldz 


' worlds 


mblz 


" thimbles 


ks 


' sex 


dst 


'■ midst 


kts 


' sects 


tl 


" battle 


Pt 


' slept 


psts 


" tempests 


ptst 


' slept'st 


Its 


" bolts 


St 


' crossed 


knz 


" tokens 


sts 


' wastes 


ndst 


" found'st 


rts 


' deserts 


vd 


" loved 


dl 


' bridle 


vdst 


" lov'dst 


did 


' bridled 


ldst 


' ' wildest 


didst 


• bridl'd'st 


gd 


" rugged 


th 


' wreath 


klz 


" rascals 


thd 


' wreathed 


ks 


" sticks 


thdst 


' wreath' d 'st 


zth 


" ariseth 


kl 


' truckle 


rl 


" whirl 


kid 


' truckled 


cht 


" crouched 


kldst 


' truck P dst 


ktst 


" look'dst 


nd 


' reasoned 


ft 


" laughed 


dst 


' reason 'dst 


fdst 


" laugh'dst 


nd 


' hardened 


dst 


" guid'st 


ndst 


' harden 'dst 


si 


" whistle 


thrd 


' smothered 


rb 


" orb 


thrdst 


' smother 'dst 


rbd 


" orb'd 


rkn 


" hearken 


bl 


" trouble 


rknd 


1 hearkened 


biz 


" troubles 


rkndst 


' hearken'dst 


bid 


" troubled 


md 


' doomed 


blst 


" troubl'st 


mdst ' 


' doom 'dst 


bldst 


" troubl'dst 


pts 


' accepts 


bz 


" ribs 


mpt 


' prompt 


bd 


" robbed 


bs 


' clubs 


bst 


" bobb'st 


vz 


' strives 


bdst 


" robb'd'st 


ks 


' rocks 


dl 


" handle 


mz 


' swims 


did 


" handled 


dz 


" seeds 


didst 


" handl'd'st 



Key to Expression, 39 



EXAMPLES IN ARTICULATION. 

1. She uttered a shrill shriek and shrank from the 

shriveled form. 

2. She says she shall sew a sheet. 

3. Crazy Craycroft caught a crate of crinkled crabs. 

4. Weave the warp and weave the woof. 

5. He was formidable, unbearable, intolerable, unman- 

ageable, and terrible. 

6. The crafty creatures crawled in crowds. 

7. He sawed six long, slim, sleek, slender saplings. 

8. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, 

9. A tell-tale, tattling termagent that troubled all the 

town. 
10. While summer's rosy wreaths for me are twined, 
While summer fragrance lingers on the wind. 



11. The ship sailed safely over the sea. 

12. The cultivated shrubs and plants. 

13. I said, " It snows; " not, " Its nose." 
14.-. He selected his texts with care. 

15. " Go, my son, and shut the shutter." 

This, I heard a mother utter. 
" Shutter's shut," the boy did mutter; 
" I can't shut it any shutter." 

16. Hound the rough and rugged rocks the ragged rascals 

ran. 

17. breeze, that waft'st me on my way. 

18. This was the most unkindest cut of all. 



40 Key to Expression. 

19. Thou boast'st of what should be thy shame. 

20. Life's fitful fever over, he rests well. 

21. Did you say, " On either," or, " On neither? " "An 

ocean," or, "A notion?'' 

'22. She sells sea shells. Shall he sell sea shells? 

23. Thou waft'st the rickety skiffs over the cliffs. 

24. His faults showed him to be false. 

25. Shall I prompt you? 

20. Thou reef'd'st the haggled, shipwrecked sail. 

27. Some shun sunshine. Do you shun sunshine? 

28. Thou wept'st for his faults. 

29. The stars that twinkled'st in the morning. 

30. This act more than all other acts laid the ax at the 

root of the evil. 



31. The old, cold, scold sold a school coal scuttle. 

32. The hosts still stand in the strangest plight. 

33. Did you say that people of both sex and of any sect 

might attend the school? 

34. It was by chance I heard the chants. 

35. I said, " That last still night; " not, " That lasts till 

night." 

36. Not one who had lived and suffered death. 

37. Thou wrong's! and harnrst them. 

38. A big, black bug bit a big black bear. 

39. Here are a few of the unpleasant'st words. 

40. Some shrewd contents. 



41. The missionary gave them tracts. 

42. There were tracts of land and tracks in the snow. 

43. He has no sense of justice though he has cents. 



Key to Expression. 41 

44. Conductor, when you receive a fare, 
Punch in the presence of the passenjare — 
A blue trip slip for an eight-cent fare, 

A buff trip slip for a six-cent fare, 

A pink trip slip for a three-cent fare — 

Punch in the presence of the passenjare. 

45. This strict court of Venice must needs give sentence 

'gainst the merchant there. 

46. The prince was present when the prints were made. 

47. The influence of tens of thousands tends to elevate 

them. 

48. I said, " Mince: " not, " Mints." 

,49. Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, thy 
God's, and truth's; then if thou fall'st, Crom- 
well, thou fall'st a blessed martyr. 
50. She wept most when the guest lost the highest-priced 
lace in the east garden. 



51. This was the dearest object of her existence. 

52. Five wise wives weave withered withes. 

53 : There were hosts of birds' nests in tufts of grass. 

54. Westminster is near. 

55. Last night he said he would vitit it. 

56. She wept past. 

57. Thou visitest us. 

58. It sufficeth us. 

59. Most startling stories were circulated. 

60. The frost looked forth. 



61. The muscles were tense. 

62. They pitched their tents. 

63. When the wheel whirled, the whale was seen. 



42 Key to Expression. 

64. He asked when, where, and whv. 

Go. The broken clouds sailed off in crowds. 

66. The whining whittler whetted his scythe and whipped 

the whistler. 

67. There are several conflicts. 

68. In the days of thy youth. 

69. After the most straightest sect of our religion. 

70. The object is perfect. 



71. White clouds scud before the storm. 

72. I shall stay whilst it lasts. 

73. He was most tranquil. 

74. She first asked for the best silver spoons. 

75. The red-eyed lighthouse lifts its form; 

The white spray beats against the panes. 

76. Like some wet ghost. 

77. While the wild ocean wilder whirls. 

78. Without the world is wild with rage. 

79. Open vistas skirted with tall pines. 

80. I find green fields wait for me. 



81. The forest's shade, the wild bird's melody. 

82. Amidst the vast unknown. 

83. He attempts to slay the beasts. 

84. Sparks flew over Twelfth street. 

85. The prospect reflects defects. 

86. The Picts struck the busts with picks. 

87. He showed the fonl'st contempt for authority. 

88. For Christ's sake she became an outcast. 

89. He attempts to solve the vast problem of the past. 

90. She tripped and was crushed beneath shafts and 

looms. 



Key to Expression. 43 

91. For months there were no lights but lamps. 

92. She passed the crypt and stopped, perplexed. 
03. She tore the crisp script. 

9 1. He did a good deed. 
95. He said, " Good day." 
90. He seemed to esteem me. 

97. Soon they saw some men. 

98. He cut two thistle stocks. 

99. The groves were God's first temples. 

100. He failed on the first test. 

101. Thcophilus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, in 

sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three 
thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb. 
Now if Theophilus Thistle, the successful thistle 
sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, 
thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of 
his thumb, see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of 
unsifted thistles, thrust not three thousand thistles 
through the thick of thv thumb. 



44 



Key to Expression. 



WORDS COMMONLY MISPRONOUNCED. 



acclimate 


burlesque 


chlorine 


acoustics 


Bo/.zaris 


choleric 


adept 


Balmoral 


cleanly 


alien 


behemoth 


coterie 


ally 


bestial 


coupon 


antartic 


biology 


courier 


amenable 


bomb 


covetous 


apparatus 


bona fide 


creek 


assets 


bravado 


colosseum 


aroma 


. 


combatant 


artificer 


caprice 


comrade 


asbestos 


carat 


conjure 


atheneum 


cassimere 


coquetry 


abdomen 


Charivari 


courteous 


adjective 


chateau 


Crimean 


address 


complaisance 


cupola 


alias 


comparable 


Curacoa 


alibi 


concourse 




allopathy 


conduit 


damning 


allies 


contumely 


decade 


alternate 


conversant 


deficit 


amour 


coquet 


demise 


apricot 


craunch 


demoniacal 


arctic 


crochet 


despicable 


aspirant 


croquet 


didactic 


audacious 


croquette 


diphtheria 


auxiliary 


cuisine 


disputable 


address 


communist 


docile 




Cairo 


dolorous 


bade 


canine 


delicate 


benzine 


Capuchin 


dare 


bouquet 


Caribbean 


debauchee 


blatant 


cerement 


debris 


bivouac 


cherubim 


debut 


bromide 


chimpanzee 


dynamite 


bromine 


chirography 


diocesan 


bronchitis 


chiropodist 


douche 


buoyant 


chloride 


drouth 



Key to Expression. 



45 



ducat 


gaol 


irremediable 


dost 


gaseous 


irrevocable 


duty 


gauntlet 


inquiry 




gaunt 


integral 


enervate 


Genoa 


intrigue 


Elgin 


geyser 


italic 


elysium 


Giaour 


isolate 


exotic 


gladiolus 




extant 


glamour 


jaguar 


extol 


Goliath 


jaundice 


epizootic 


gondola 


joust 


eclat 


granary 


jocund 


elegiac 


gratis 


jugular 


elocution 


gewgaw 


juvenile 


encore 


gyves 




ennui 




lethe 


exegesis 


haunch 


lever 


exile 


haunt 


lien 


eyry 


hearth 


literati 


falcon 


hecatomb 


loath 


falconer 


heinous 


larynx 


faucet 


heraldic 


lyceum 


February 


herculean 


lethargic 


fetid 


homeopathist 




finale 


homeopathy 


massacring 


finance 


hospitable 


mausoleum 


financier 


hussar 


mauve 


flaccid 


hymeneal 


mediocre 


floral 


hyperbole 


memoir 


forbade 


halibut 


mesdames 


franchise 


hearths 


molecule 


frontier 


hirsuite 


mustache 


feline 


homage 


matron 


fete 


hostage 


mischievous 


finis 




morphine 


fragile 


illustrate 


moths 


fricassee 


imbroglio 




frontal 


indecorus 


neuralgia 


frontispiece 


indisputable 


newspaper 


fulsome 


iodine 


nuisance 



46 



Key to Expression. 



naiad 


prologue 


senile 


nascent 


protege 


seraglia 


nauseous 


placard 


serapis 


nectarine 


plagiarism 


sesame 


nicotine 


plebeian 


simultaneous 


nomad 


poignant 


sinecure 


nonpareil 


precedency 


sobriquet 


notable 


precedent 


soporific 




predatory 


sough 


oral 


prelate 


squalor 


orgies 


pretty 


subtle 


orotund 


profuse 


sacrament 


oaths 


prolix 


sagacious 


obligatory 


protean 


salic 


Oceanus 


puissance 


salon 


occult 


pyramidal 


satirist 


onyx 


prairie 


satyr 


opponent 




savant 


Orion 


quota 


scallop 


orthoepist 




schism 


oxide 


regime 


sciatica 




reptile 


seance 


patron 


resin 


semester 


papyrus 


resume 


senna 


peony 


rapine 


sepulture 


phonics 


raspberry 


servile 


pincers 


recess 


siesta 


piquant 


refutable 


siren 


panegeric 


remediable 


sirup 


parquet 


reparable 


slough 


particular 


research 


soiree 


pharmaceutic 


respiratory 


subpoena 


peremptory 


resource 


suggest 


piazza 


revolt 


syncope 


poem 


robust 




pomel 


romance 


tenacious 


poinard 




tortoise 


prescience 


sarcerdotal 


toward 


prescient 


sacrilege 


trachea 


privative 


salient 


truculent 



Key to Expression. 



47 



tepid 


turgid 


venial 


tableaux 


talc 


vignett 


terpsichore 


tiny 


virago 


traverse 


tranquil 


vagary 


tribunal 


tartaric 


volatile 


tribune 


tirade 




troche 


trilobite 


yacht 


irume 

tobacco 

trousseau 


Uranus 
uxorious 


zouave 



II. PHYSICAL CULTURE. 



It is not intended to give here a treatise on physical 
culture. The following exercises are interspersed with 
.just as little explanation as is consistent with clearness. 
They will be found valuable in overcoming faults of car- 
riage, stiffness of the muscles, round shoulders, depressed 
chest, protruding hips and chin, and other faults which so 
commonly deform the human body. A graceful presence 
is one of the most essential requisites of a person who 
wishes to win public favor. These exercises render the 
body more graceful and responsive to the will, and, there- 
fore, more expressive. 

While taking the exercises one's dress should be loose 
enough so that it will in no way restrict the movements; 
otherwise, injury will result. Indeed, at any time tight 
clothing is injurious to the health. It also destroys the 
volume and power of the voice, and makes visible expres- 
sion next to impossible. Those who wish to pursue the 
study of elocution will do well to regulate their clothing 
according to the dictates of common sense. 

CORRECT STANDING POSITION. 

Take the weight on the balls of the feet; let the heels 
lightly touch the floor; lift the chest forward and upward 
to such a position that a line drawn from it would fall in 
front of the toes. It will be noticed that this draws the 
hips back. 

Sometimes pupils are so eager to make the chest prom- 
inent that they bend at the hips, thus giving an awkward, 



Key to Expression. 40 

angular position to the body. To avoid this, see that the 
shoulders, hips, and ankles are in a line ivith one another. 
Do not hold the shoulders back. This is a fallacy taught 
in the old-time gymnastics which gives one a rigid attitude. 
Keep the chest up, and do not think of the shoulders. Keep 
the head erect, being careful not to protrude the chin. 
Much care should be taken to acquire a correct standing 
position. Nothing is more important either from the 
standpoint of health or art, and it is the basis of grace. 

No doubt those who have been accustomed to stand with 
the weight on the heels, with shoulders held stiffly back, 
or those who have stood with bowed back and drooping 
shoulders, will think at first that they cannot maintain 
the position indicated above ; but one week devoted to the 
correct habit will convince them not only that it is more 
graceful, but that it is easier than the old position. 

Exercise I. Lift the hands above the head and clasp them, 

turning the palms upward. Rise on the toes, 
reaching upward with the clasped hands as 
far as possible. Keeping the position on the 
toes, bring the hands down behind the back; 
clasp them and pull down vigorously, at the 
same time lifting the chest forward. Bring 
the heels lightly to the floor. Keep the chest 
in position and drop the arms at the side. 

This exercise expands the chest, and calls 
attention to the bad habit of swaying the 
weight back on the heels. 

RELAXING EXERCISES. 

In order to accomplish anything in visible expression — 
or, indeed, in vocal expression — it is necessary to overcome 
that tense "condition of the nerves which has become so 
prevalent in all classes of society. The following exercises 



50 



Key to Expression. 



help to establish a habit of self-control and give an ease 
and repose to the body which is invaluable to every one, 
whether in public or private life: 

Exercise I. Remove all tension from the muscles of the 

neck and let the head fall lifelessly forward 
on the chest. Lift the head to position and 
let it fall backward. If the tension is en- 
tirely removed, the jaw will drop. Lift the 
head; let it fall on the right shoulder and 
on the left alternately. After returning to 
position, drop the head forward again; then 
slowly roll it to the right; then to the hack, 
left, and front, describing a circle by the 
movement. Repeat the movement, carrying 
the head first to the left. 

Exercise II. Lift the arms above the head; then let them 
fall, lifelessly, at the sides. Repeat three 
times; then extend the arms above the head, 
and, after energizing to the finger tips, re- 
move the energy from the joints successively, 
dropping first the fingers, then the hand, then 
the forearm, and, last, the upper arm. 

Exercise III. Lift the shoulders as high as possible, and 
then let them drop. Repeat three times. 

Exercise IV. Lift the upper arms to a level with the shoul- 
ders, the forearm hanging down perpendicu- 
larly. Remove the tension from the fingers, 
and shake them by the power in the hand. 

Exercise V. Remove the tension from the hands. By the 

power in the forearms shake the hands up 
and down; then give the hands an inward 
circular motion, then an outward circular mo- 
tion. 

Exercise VI. Lift the upper arms, letting the forearms 
hang relaxed; then relax the upper arms, let- 
ting the arms fall at the sides. Repeat this 



Key to Expression. 



51 



three times; then lift the upper arms, and, 
by the power in them, describe an inward cir- 
cular motion with the forearm; then describe 
an outward circular motion. 

Exercise VII. Take the weight on the right foot and swing 
the left foot backward and forward without 
any tension or stiffness in the knee or hip; 
then swing it in a circle around the right leg. 
Take the weight on the left foot and repeat 
the exercise with the right leg. 

Exercise VIII. Lean the body over the right hip, letting the 
head hang relaxed. Keeping the legs ener- 
gized, let the body fall forward. If this is 
done correctly, the arms will swing to and 
fro and the head hang forward on the chest. 
Slowly return to position, letting each joint 
of the spine unfold successively, the head be- 
ing the last to return to position. Repeat the 
exercise to the left side. 

Besides aiding in visible expression by giving a flexibil- 
ity and control to the nerves and muscles, these exercises 
are of great assistance in voice culture, because they re- 
move that undue strain from the body which so often causes 
disastrous results to the voice if not corrected in time. 



CAUTION. 

When the student has learned to thoroughly relax the 
body, he should always practice the breathing or some 
other energizing exercise after the practice in relaxation. 

Any exercise may be practiced to excess, though such is 
not usually the case. Cases are known, however, where 
pupils have practiced relaxing until the system became de- 
vitalized, and dire results followed. In beginning, from 
ten to fifteen minutes is enough to devote to this practice 



52 Key to Expression. 

at one time, though one may practice three or four times a 
day. 

BREATHING EXERCISES. 

Incorrect habits of standing and tight clothing are the 
two greatest causes of incorrect respiration. Let one re- 
move such clothing as in any way restricts the body, and, 
lying flat on his back, observe his respiration. He will no- 
tice that he breathes from the diaphragm, and that the 
muscles of the abdomen rise and fall with every inhalation 
and exhalation. All healthy, unrestricted grown people 
breathe in this way. 

For the cultivation of the voice, whether for speaking or 
singing, nothing is more important than the proper con- 
trol of the breath; indeed, nothing can be accomplished 
without it. It is the basis of tone production, the strength, 
volume, and carrying power depending largely on the depth 
and control of respiration. 

Great care should be taken to establish the habit of in- 
haling through the nostrils. Most persons are not aware 
of the extent to which they practice mouth breathing until 
their attention is called to it. Much of the dryness and 
huskiness of the. throat experienced by public speakers is 
the result of this habit. The air needs warming by pass- 
ing through the nasal cavities before reaching the vocal 
organs. Breathing through the nostrils causes the destruc- 
tion, to a large extent, of the dust and disease germs, which, 
if inhaled through the mouth, may cause throat and lung 
trouble. There is probably no habit that is harder to over- 
come; neither is there one for overcoming which one is 
more richly paid. Besides being the basis of voice culture, 
proper breathing is essential to perfect health. Many cases 
of incipient blood poisoning, as well as of throat and pul- 
monary affections, may be driven away by deep breathing. 



Key to Expression. < r >-"> 

Nervous persons have been known to gain great control 
by this simple act. Fresh, pure air, and plenty of it, is the 
best remedy for many diseases in their first stages. 

In correct breathing the air passes through the nostrils, 
along the nasal cavities, through the posterior nares into 
the pharynx, through the glottis into the trachea, thence 
through the bronchial tubes into the lungs. In the act of 
respiration the diaphragm contracts, pushing the abdominal 
organs downward and outward. The oxygen in the air 
that has been breathed into the lungs purifies the blood. 
After this life principle has been taken from the air, it 
passes out through the same organs by which it entered, 
carrying the impurities of the blood. In expiration the 
diaphragm recovers its former position, and, pressing 
against the lungs., forces the air out. It is the air in its 
passage outward that constitutes material for the forma- 
tion of the voice. All voice is produced by exhalation. 

Exercise I. Take a good standing position. Place the 

hands at the side just above the waist. Ex- 
hale so that the muscles under the hand con- 
tract; then inhale, expanding the muscles. 
During the exercise do not let the shoulders 
or chest rise or fall. 

Exercise II. Inhale while slowly counting ten. Hold the 
breath while counting ten; then exhale while 
counting ten. As the strength increases, in- 
crease the number of counts for the exercise. 

Exercise III. Inhale; carry the arms above the head till 
the palms touch; then turn the palms up and 
push upward vigorously. Exhale while re- 
turning to position. 

Exercise IV. Inhale; lift the arms forward, up, and back 
so as to describe a circle. Hold the breath 
while the revolutions of the arms are de- 
scribed. Repeat the exercises three times. 



54 



Key to Expression. 



STRETCHING EXERCISES. 

Exercise I. Lift the arms above the head, reaching up as 

far as possible; then slowly bend forward, 
reaching down as far as possible without 
bending the knees. Relax the arms, head, 
and back, and slowly return to position. 

Exercise II. Drop the head back as in the relaxing exer- 
cise, and bend the back and knees so as to 
let the body down and back as far as possible. 
One should be careful not to band further 
back than to have perfect control of himself. 
Slowly return to position, letting the head be 
the last to rise. 

Exercise III. Take a wide base. Transfer the weight to 
the right foot, bending the body over the left 
hip. Return to position. Transfer the 
weight to the left foot, bending over the right 
hip. During this exercise the face and chest 
should face front. 

Exercise IV. Carry the chin as far around over the right 
shoulder as possible. From this position tip 
the head back toward the left shoulder; then 
bring the chin downward toward the right 
shoulder. Repeat to the left side. 



Exercise V. Bend forward from the hips; then carry the 

body around to the right side; then to the 
back, left, and front, trying to describe a cir- 
cle by the movement. Repeat the exercise, 
beginning the movement to the left side. Be 
sure to keep the muscles of the neck relaxed, 
and avoid undue tension in any of the mus- 
cles. 

The value of this division of the exercises 
will be seen in the increased flexibility of 
the body. 



Key to Expression. 



55 



REACHING EXERCISES. 

Exercise I. Take the weight on the right foot; step the 

left foot at side, so as to have a wide base, 
and the left foot at right angles with the 
right foot. Lift the right hand, pushing up 
and out with the palm of right hand, at the 
same time lifting the foot off the floor and 
pushing down and out with it. Repeat the 
exercise with the weight on left foot, pushing 
with left hand and right foot. 

Exercise II. Taking the weight on the right foot, place the 
toe of the left foot well forward. Lift the 
right arm, pushing up and back with the 
palm of the right hand. Lift the left foot off 
the floor, pushing down and out with it. Re- 
peat the exercise with weight on left foot. 

Exercise III. Place the right foot forward, taking the 
weight on it. Lift the right arm, pushing up 
and out with the palm of the hand. Push 
down and back with the left foot. Repeat 
the exercise with the weight on the left foot. 

If these exercises are practiced vigorously, they will 
strengthen and develop the muscles. 



POISING EXERCISES. 

Exercise I. With the weight on both feet, poise as far 

forward as possible without bending from 
the hips or lifting the heels from the floor; 
then poise as far back as possible without 
lifting the toes from the floor. Repeat the 
exercise three times; then rise on the toes 
and hold the position while counting ten. 

Exercise II. Repeat Exercise I., with the weight on one 
foot, lifting the other foot entirely off the 
floor. In returning to position, the pupil 



56 



Key to Expression. 



should be careful to keep the weight on the 
balls of the feet. There seems to be a gen- 
eral tendency to sway back on the heels. 



Exercise III. 



Exercise IV. 



Rise on the toes; then, by bending the knees 
and ankles only, kneel on the floor and re- 
turn to position without bending the hips or 
letting the hands touch anything. 

Take the weight on the right foot, cross the 
left foot over it, rise on the toes, pivot around 
slowly, making a complete circle and return- 
ing to position. Repeat the movement, plac- 
ing the right foot over the left. 



Exercise V. Take the weight on the rignt foot; lift the 

left leg so as to allow of free movement of the 
foot. With the knee slightly bent, lift the 
heel as far from the floor as possible, point- 
ing the toe down and out. By a free move- 
ment of the hip and knee describe an out- 
ward circular movement with the left toe. 
Repeat the circular movement three times. 
While doing this, be careful to keep the body 
well poised, the weight on the ball of the 
right foot, and the chest well forward. When 
the third circular movement has been com- 
pleted, place the ball of the left foot on the 
floor, take the weight on it, and bend the left 
knee so that the right knee touches the floor. 
Rise to position. Repeat the exercise with 
the weight on the left foot. 



EXERCISES FOR HARMONIC ACTION. 

Exercise I. Step the left foot back, taking the weight on 

it. Bend the left knee as much as possible, 
keeping the right knee straight. As the 
body bends backward, let the head and chest 
sink. In rising to position, Garry the weight 
to the right foot and lift the head and chest 



Key to Expression. 



57 



t as the body becomes erect. Repeat the exer- 

cise, stepping the right foot back. 

Exercise II. Take the weight on the right foot advanced. 
Lift the left arm above the shoulder, keeping 
the elbow straight and letting the wrist lead. 
As the arm rises, carry the head down to the 
chest. As the arm is brought down to posi- 
tion, let tbe elbow lead and the hand bend 
back from the wrist. At the same time lift 
the head to position. Repeat the exercise 
with the left hand, the weight being on the 
left foot. Repeat the exercise with both 
hands, the weight being on both feet. 

Exercise III. Take the weight on the right foot advanced. 
While slowly poising the weight back on the 
left foot, lift the arms, letting the back of 
the wrist lead; then turn the palm out, carry- 
ing the hand down, the movement described 
being circular, the first half with the back 
of the wrist leading, the second half with the 
front of the wrist leading. Continue this 
movement of the arms while poising forward 
again. 

Exercise IV. Kneel on the left knee, giving the same move- 
ment of the arms as described in Exercise 
III. while going down, and the same while 
rising. Repeat the exercises, kneeling on 
right knee. 

Exercise V. Take the weight on the right foot; extend the 

left foot at the side, the knee being slightly 
bent, and the inside of the ball of the foot 
only touching the floor. Bend over the left 
hip, looking down at the toes. Transfer the 
weight to the left foot, placing the right foot 
in the position described above, and look 
down at the right toe. Step the right foot up 
to position, extend the left foot, and continue 
the movement for ten steps; then reverse the 
movement so as to move to the right. 



III. GESTURE. 



There is no subject more difficult to teach than gesture, 
and no other phase of expression which has called forth 
so much controversy. There are two extreme theories in 
regard to visible expression — one advocating the use of ar- 
bitrary rules and imitation, the other maintaining that any 
movement one feels impelled to make must be correct. The 
last-named theory is an easy way of disposing of the diffi- 
cult question. But the merits of any system are to be 
judged by the results, and those who most warmly advo- 
cate this theory are frequently weakest in expression, and 
often contradict by gesture what they say in words. The 
writer once heard an exponent of this system on " Visible 
Expression." He stood before the public with his thumbs 
in his pockets and his toes over the edge of the platform. 
With his hand half closed, he gave a sideway jerk of the 
thumb to emphasize the assertion that " gesture could take 
care of itself." Awkwardness and boorishness are un- 
doubtedly natural to some people, but every one who wishes 
for the advancement of the human race, as well as that of 
the artist, will strive to overcome his personal limitations 
and defects and to formulate an ideal to which he will en- 
deavor to attain. 

It is not necessary to discuss the defects of a mechanical 
system of teaching, as they are only too apparent to every 
thinking man; but gesture can be taught without using 
arbitrary rules or restricting the individuality of any one. 

The object of physical culture is to correct awkwardness 
of attitude and movement. It should be diligently prac- 



Key to Expression. 59 

ticed, as awkwardness calls attention to itself, thereby de- 
tracting from the thought. When the body has gained 
some degree of responsiveness by exercises of this kind, ex- 
pressiveness may be further developed by the study and 
practice of the principles of gesture which are given in the 
following pages. 

The simplest kind of gesture is that used to point out 
anything. When the object is before one, the task is not 
difficult. It is when the real object is not present that the 
student finds it difficult to point it out or describe it by 
gesture; yet this is what the reader or speaker is expected 
to do. The greatest difficulty in this matter is caused by 
a lack of the power of imagination. No gesture can be 
made correctly unless the speaker clearly sees the object he 
wishes to indicate. Suppose he uses the sentence : 
" Yonder stands the cottage in which I was born." 
If he is going to point out the cottage, he must first see 
it himself. Nor is it sufficient to have a dim idea of the 
house. He must see the cottage in all its details — its sit- 
uation, whether in town, village, or country; the material 
of which it is made ; its size, shape, and color ; its surround- 
ings — trees, flowers, shrubs, etc. All these details the 
speaker must have clearly before him. If the selection 
does not furnish the details, his imagination should do so. 
If his imagination is sufficiently powerful, he will be able, 
to make the picture really exist for his audience for the 
time, just as our dreams are the most real things in the 
world to us during sleep. If he sees the picture himself 
and holds it in his mind while he is speaking, it is not 
likely that his gestures will be very far from right. His 
hand may be prone or supine, or he may use the index fin- 
ger, according to his temperament. The latter is, in the 
opinion of the authors, a better gesture than either of the 
others, as it points out more definitely. 



60 Key to Expression. 

It takes considerable practice in gesture to make the 
body responsive io the mind, but it requires greater effort 
and more care for the average student to form the picture 
clearly in the imagination. Below another example is 
given to illustrate this principle of imagining the scene de- 
scribed by words: 

Far aloft in that high steeple 
Sat the bellman, old and gray. 

In giving these lines, one should see not only the steeple, 
but the building to which it belongs — its height, etc. — and 
then the old man who sits there. As the gesture is to call 
attention to the man, the steeple being of secondary im- 
portance, it should be sustained till a picture is completed 
by the words. 

Proportion plays an important part in descriptive ges- 
ture. How often we see buildings described as if they were 
little larger than a toy Noah's ark; trees, as if they were 
shrubs ; mountains, as if they were sand hills ; and lakes 
and rivers, as if they were fish ponds. This tendency to 
dwarf objects is more marked in readers than in speakers, 
as with the latter the thoughts are their own. • 

Among certain classes there is an inclination to imper- 
sonate wherever it is possible. A young lady of some edu- 
cation was seen, when giving these lines from Longfellow's 
" Legend of the Beautiful," 

In an attitude imploring, 

Hands upon her bosom crossed, 

Wondering, whispering, adoring, 
Knelt the monk in rapture lost, 

to cross her hands, look upward, and make a sweeping 
bow to show the. attitude of the monk. It scarcely need 
be said that this is absurd, yet not infrequently we see 



Key to Expression. 01 

quite as absurd things on the platform. If any gesture is 
necessary on the lines given above, it is only an. objective 
one. It is not the attitude of the monk, but his sentiment, 
that is the important thing. The audience will imagine 
his posture. The same lady, when reciting the lines, 

Suddenly, as if it lightened, 

waved her arms wildly to and fro to represent the light- 
ning, she said. 

No doubt many have seen the lines 'from " The Charge 
of the Light Brigade," 

Flashed all their sabers bare, 
Flashed as they turned in air, 

given with a whirling upward movement of the arms to 
indicate the flashing of the sabers; and the same reader 
on the lines, 

Cossack and Russian 

Reeled from their saber stroke 

Shattered and sundered, 

will often reel and stagger in his effort to be dramatic. 
The picture in these lines is objective, and an. attempt to 
impersonate such as just described detracts from rather 
than intensifies the scene. 

It is too much to say one should never impersonate ex- 
cept where a character speaks, but it is better to err on the 
side of too little impersonation than on the side of too 
much. Sometimes readers go so far as to attempt to im- 
personate animals. The writer once had a pupil who was 
preparing a selection in which a country lass bringing 
home the cows was described. In the middle of the piece 
the reader stopped and asked what gesture she should make 
for a cow switching her tail. This was an extreme case, 



62 Key to Expression. 

but it may serve as a warning to those who think it neces- 
sary to impersonate every movement described. The more 
primitive the mind, the greater is the inclination to act 
out the situation. We see this tendency in children when 
endeavoring to describe something they have seen. They 
are given to impersonating and exaggerating; but as the 
mind matures, this tendency becomes less. Some adults in 
this respect are but children grown tall. 

SUBJECTIVE GESTURE. 

In expressing abstract thought, many speakers seem to 
have but little idea regarding gesticulation other than to 
pound the air with their hands, often the words and ges- 
tures contradicting each other. A little thought given as 
to how^ to bring out the meaning of the word by the ges- 
ture would correct many defects. Let us look at the sen- 
tence : 

" I protest against such a measure." 

• 

Usually when a speaker utters this sentence he lifts his 
hand in a vertical line and brings it down vigorously on 
the word protest. If we consider the meaning of the word 
protest, to make a solemn affirmation or declaration against, 
we shall see that to protest by gesture as well as by voice 
we have to lift the hand as an affirmation, which movement 
has the significance of lifting one's voice against. The 
palm of the hand facing strongly to the front has the sig- 
nificance of the preposition against. 

" Proclaim the tidings to all the people." 

This sentence, too, is generally accompanied by a down- 
ward movement on the word proclaim, but gesticulation 
can proclaim^ or make public, only by an upward move- 
ment of the hand. 



Key to Expression. 63 

"They tell us to be moderate, but they — they are to revel 
in profusion." 

Tn this sentence the ideas of moderation and profusion 
are contrasted. 11 cw can this contrast be shown by ges- 
ture ? It is simple enough when one stops to consider it. 

A clergyman, of whose sincerity one could have no doubt, 
was heard exhorting his congregation "to be Christlike." 
On the word Christlike he brought his clenched fist down 
forcibly on the; desk. 

These and many other instances which might be given 
go to show that the gesture of the average speaker can well 
be improved by a little thought. If our knowledge of hu- 
man nature was deep enough, no doubt we could use ges- 
ture as accurately as speech. Dr. McLellan, in "Applied 
Psychology/' says : "'Among those in whom articulate 
speech does not render it [gesture] unnecessary there is 
produced a gesture language. This is found among deaf 
mutes and among savage tribes who are in close relation 
with other tribes speaking different dialects. So instinct- 
ive and unconventional is their mode of expression that 
it has been found that North American Indians and deaf 
mutes have no difficulty in understanding one another 
when they come together for the first time." It is evi- 
dent that there must be certain principles underlying the 
" gesture language " which, if we could understand, would 
make the art of gesticulation comparatively simple. That 
we do not understand this language is because we do not 
live in such close harmony with nature as do these people. 
Animals, because they are near to nature, are told by their 
instincts which herbs are poison and which are not. Form 
and motion must be the expression of some power behind 
them. An eminent philosopher has said: "All natural 
forms bear their signatures, which indicate their natures. 



64 Key to Expression. 

Minerals, vegetables, and animals remain true to their 
natures, and their forms indicate their characters. Man, 
who has become unnatural, is the only being whose charac- 
ter often belies his form, because, while his character may 
be changed into that of an animal/ his form has retained 
the human shape." Thus it is that it is more difficult to 
understand the expression of man's nature than that of any 
other being. " If our bodies were formed of a more eth- 
ereal and plastic material than of muscles and bones, each 
change in our character would produce quickly a corre- 
sponding change of our form; but gross matter is inert, 
and follows only slowly the impression made upon the 
soul." This fact makes it all the more necessary that the 
body should receive training in expression. 

Dr. Hopkins, in " Outline Study of Man," says that man 
is the only animal that uses either articulate language or 
arbitrary signs as a means of intercommunication. This 
is the result of abstract thought ; " and abstract thought," 
says Dr. Hopkins, " marks the difference between man and 
animals." It is the gesture which accompanies abstract 
thought that is the most difficult to determine. Having 
for ages used his own inventions for communicating ideas, 
man's natural tendencies have weakened from use. Deaf 
mutes, by force of circumstances, follow the dictates of 
their instincts. The Indians and other primitive races 
are guided by their instincts and intuition more than we, 
and thus possess a power which we have all but lost. 

" For every thought," says Dr. Franz Hartman, " there 
is an outward expression; and if we have a thought which 
we cannot express by symbols, it does not follow that such 
symbols do not exist, but that we are unacquainted with 
them A word or a language is the expression of thought, 
and, to be perfect, it must give perfect expression to the 



Key to Expression. 65 

thought it was intended to convey. By giving a false ex- 
pression to thought the power of language is lost." 
- The researches of Delsarte have done much to show the 
relation between thought and form and motion. His name 
has been belittled by so many impostors who have tried 
to cloak their own ignorance under a great name that one 
hesitates to even mention it; but being unwilling to take 
credit for that which is not their own, the authors wish to 
say that many of the ideas expressed here in regard to ges- 
ture, especially to subjective gesture, are derived from the 
teachings of the French master. 

Whether a gesture is subjective or objective, it must be 
made in either a curve or straight line, and must move in 
some direction, either in a perpendicular line, the heights 
or depths ; in a horizontal line,- the lengths ; or it must 
move out from the body, the widths — that is, laterally. 
These different modes of motion represent the different 
phases of character. The movements made in the heights 
and depths are expressive of intellect. Man is the only be- 
ing on the globe that stands erect. It is the domination 
of the mind that keeps him in this position, and the per- 
pendicular line is its symbol. 

The affections manifest themselves by movements made 
in the widths. Grandeur, beauty, sublimity, truth, and 
goodness are expressed in upward, curved movements. 
When we think of God, the natural tendency is to look up- 
ward even mentally. Our ideals are ever above us. That 
which is base and low is represented by downward move- 
ments. We think ourselves as being above ignoble thimgs. 

The horizontal movements, or lines in the lengths, are a 
manifestation of the vital principle. The heads of all ani- 
mals are bowed to the earth. Pugilists move mainly in 
this direction. Threatening, anger, and other passions be- 
3 



66 Key to Expbession. 

longing to the animal man are expressed in the horizontal 
lines. Let ns examine a few examples to illustrate the 
manifestation of the different phases of character through 
the direction of the movement: 

"Wisdom is better than riches." 

Here two ideas are compared, and one is said to be better 
than the other. The degree of inferiority or superiority 
attaching to either will depend on the speaker's conception. 
One who leaves gesture to the impulse of the moment would 
in all probability dismiss the example with a meaningless 
wave of the hand. That he made any movement at all 
would prove to him that it was a correct one. But a very 
little thought will convince one that the only appropriate 
gesture on wisdom would be upward, the direction of all 
movements expressive of the highest sentiments within us. 
One's gesture will be governed by the comparison he draws 
between the two ideas; that is, the higher he will place 
wisdom, the lower he will place riches, for riches belong to 
the material world only. One who values riches more than 
wisdom will be likely to show his preference in his gesture, 
if he expresses a comparison at all. 

" Ignorance dissolves before the light of knowledge." 

There is a similarity between this sentence and the one 
given above. Here again comparison is expressed. Igno- 
rance is lower than riches in that it requires a certain kind 
of intellect to acquire wealth. The prone hand expresses 
ignorance as it does all those things which are dark, 
mysterious, not clearly seen or understood. Knowledge be- 
longs to the intellectual zone, but is less exalted than wis- 
dom. The supine hand expresses knowledge, the opposite 
of ignorance, and all other ideas of the same class — light, 
life, etc. The movement from ignorance to knowledge 
will express the action of dissolving. 



Key to Expression. 67 

" I deny the statement." 

Here the mentality which denial requires is expressed 
by a movement of the hand in the heights and depths. If 
one's indignation is aroused, it will give a tendency to move 
toward the vital line during the last part of the gesture. 

" I give thee in thy teeth the lie." 

A movement expressive of the sentiment in this sentence 
will be in the lengths, as it belongs to the force of animal 
nature. The lower the order of intelligence of the speaker, 
the more strongly physical will the movement become, even 
to the closing of the hand. 

An illustration of movement in the widths is given in the 
sentence : 

" The boy cried, ' Mother, mother! ' as the door flew open." 

As the boy extends his arms to his mother, the direction 
is expressive of affection. 

There is a correspondence between the hand and the 
face; and, indeed, between all the members of the body. 
The closed fist corresponds to the lowered brow and set 
chin. Its meaning is too evident to need explanation. 
The prone hand corresponds to the brow lowered in 
thought. It expresses that the subject is not clearly un- 
derstood or indicates something that is too far away to be 
easily seen. The sentence, " Before him lay the unex- 
plored future," would he expressed with prone hands, be- 
cause the future is unexplored or unknown. So, too, if 
we say : " One vast realm of wonder spreads around." 
Wonder implies ignorance of the subject, and the prone 
hand conveys this idea. The supine hand and the open 
face indicate things that are clearly seen or known. For 
example : " There she sat, the queen of roses." 

The tips of the fingers are to the hand what the eyes 



88 Key to Expression. 

are to the face and articulation is to speech. Slovenly 
articulation denotes a lack of clear thinking, as also do 
the fingers that are devitalized during gesticulation. 

The question often arises : When should the gesture for 
any given idea be made? The following quotation from 
" The Delsarte System of Oratory " fully answers it : " Ges- 
ture must always precede speech ; in fact, speech is reflected 
expression. It must come after gesture, which is parallel 
with the impression received. Nature incites a movement, 
speech names this movement. Speech is only the title, the 
label of what gesture has anticipated; speech, comes only 
to confirm what the audience already comprehends ; speech 
is given for naming things. Gesture asks the question, 
' What ? ' and speech answers. Gesture after speech would 
be absurd. Let the word come after the gesture, and there 
will be no pleonasm." It would be worse than useless to 
point to the door after having said, " Leave the room," or 
to express one's surprise in words and then raise the eye- 
brows. 

Never make a gesture unless it is necessary. A single 
movement may express the thought which it takes many 
words to explain. " The intelligent man makes few ges- 
tures. To multiply gestures indicates a lack of intelli- 
gence. The face is the thermometer of intelligence. Let 
as much expression as possible be given to the face. A ges- 
ture made by the hand is wrong when not justified in ad- 
vance by the face. Intelligence is manifested by the face. 
When "the intelligent man speaks, he employs great move- 
ments only when they are justified by great exaltation of 
sentiment. And, furthermore, these sentiments should be 
stamped on the face. Without expression of the face, all 
gestures resemble telegraphic movements." 



Key to Expression. 69 

EXAMPLES. 

Students commonly find expression by gesture more dif- 
ficult than expression by speech, the conventionalities of 
life having restricted us to such a degree that we are very 
self-conscious in regard to our movements. For this rea- 
son special exercises have been given, beginning with the 
simplest forms of gesture and proceeding gradually to the 
most difficult. When these special examples have been 
completed, the gesture in connection with the examples 
given under the operations of the emotions, affections, sen- 
timents, intellect, and will should be taken up. This does 
not imply that every sentence will require some movement 
of the hand. There are thoughts that are too abstract for 
gesture, except attitude and facial expression. To this 
class of thoughts hymns belong, though we often see them 
given in pantomime. Such movements, as a general thing, 
no one could interpret if he were not told on the pro- 
gram what was being done, or if the words were not recited 
or the gestures accompanied by the air to which the song is 
usually sung. 

The chapter on " Gesture " is intended to be merely sug- 
gestive, which, indeed, is the plan of the whole book. No 
attempt is made to go into details, as all previous efforts by 
other writers to do so have been grossly misunderstood and 
misinterpreted, even as that most valuable work, " The 
Delsarte System of Oratory." It is impossible to write 
on a subject which is surrounded by so many difficulties as 
is that of visible expression without being misunderstood 
by some one. But it is hoped each student into whose 
hands this book falls will use his judgment and discrimina- 
tion. Xo rules have been laid down, and no efforts have 
been made to restrict any one's individuality. It is ex- 
pected, however, that the student will endeavor to give a 



10 Key to Expression. 

true expression to his conception of an idea. To this end 
it is indispensable to consider the movements of the body 
in relation to the thought. 

Above all, be honest. Never try to appear to the public 
to be that which you are not or to use words, inflections, or 
gestures merely for effect. Kemember Delsarte's words : 
" The more lofty the intellect, the more simple the speech. 
So in art." 

EXAMPLES IN GESTURE. 

1. Up in the lonely tower he sits, 

The keeper of the crimson light. 

2. But now there was a large mass in the distance, and 

near to her Maggie could discern the current of the 
river. 

3. A new current swept along and drove the boats far 

out on the wide water. 

4. Color was beginning to awaken now, and she could 

discern the tints of the trees. 

5. A new danger was being carried toward them by the 

river. 

6. Some machinery had given way on one of the wharves, 

and huge fragments were being floated along. 

7. The sun was rising now, and the wide area of watery 

desolation was spread out in dreadful clearness 
around them. 

8. Away to the North ragged mountains 

Climb high through the shuddering air; 
They bend their dark brows o'er the valley 
To read what new ruin is there. 



Key to Expression. 71 

9. In yon bright track that fires the Western skies 
They melt, they vanish from my eyes. 

10. But — ! — what solemn scenes on Snowdon's heights, 

Descending slow, their glittering skirts unroll ! 

11. Fair laughs the morn and soft the zephyr blows, 
While proudly riding o'er the azure realm 

In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes. 

12. On a rock whose haughty brow 

Frowns o'er old Conway's foaming flood, 
Bobed in the sable garb of woe, 
With haggard eyes the poet stood. 

13. They do not sleep. 
On yonder cliffs a grisly band 

I see them sit. They linger yet, 
Avengers of their native land. 

14. And half of their fleet to the right 

And half to the left were seen, 
And the little Bevenge ran on 

Through the long sea lane between. 

15. Two gray hawks ride the rising blast; 

Dark-cloven clouds drive to and fro 

By peaks preeminent in snow; 
A sounding river rushes past, 
So wild, so vortex-like and vast. 

16. A lone lodge tops the windy hill; 
A tawny maiden, mute and still, 

Stands waiting at the river brink. 



V2 Key to Expression. 

17. There the troops of Minon wheels, 

There the Northern horses thunder, 
With the cannon at their heels. 

18. The pear trees looked on in their white, 
And the bluebirds flashed about. 

19. But the cowslips were tall at my feet, 

And all the white orchard, with fast-falling blos- 
soms, was littered; 

And under and over the branches those little birds 
twittered, 
. While, hanging head downward, they scolded because 
I was seven. 

20. So this was the country — clear dazzle of azure and 

shiver 
And whisper of leaves and a humming all over the 

tall, 
White branches, a humming of bees. 

21. And I came to a wall — 

A little, low wall — and looked over, and there was the 

river, 
Clear, shining, and slow. 

22. We sought in the wood, and we found the wood wren 

in her stead; 
In the field, and we found the cuckoo that talked 
overhead ; 
By the brook, and we found the reed sparrow, deep- 
nestled in brown. 

23. And we stood on a green, grassy mound, 

And looked in at the window: for Echo, perhaps, in 
the round, 
Might have come in to hide there. 



Key to Expression. 73 

24. But no ; every oak-carven seat 

Was empty. We saw the great Bible — old, old, 
very ©Id — 
And the parson's great prayer book beside it; we 
heard the slow beat 
Of the pendulum swing in the tower; we saw the 
clear gold 
Of a sunbeam float down to the aisle, and then, waver, 

play 
On the low chancel step and the railing. 

25. Cannon to right of them, 
Cannon to left of them, 
Cannon in front of them 
Volleyed and thundered. 

26. On right, on left, above, below, 
Sprang up at once the lurking foe. 

27. Look at the bounding tigers ! See how the one leads 

the other in the awf ul race to the feast ! 

28. Lake Leman lies by Chillon's walls ; 
A thousand feet in depth below 

Its massy waters meet and flow. 
This much the fathom line was sent 
From Chil Ion's snow-white battlement. 

29. Below the surface of the lake 

The dark vault lies wherein we lay. 

30. I saw their thousands years of snow 
On high ; their wide, long* lake below ; 
And the blue Ehone in fullest flow. 



74 Key to Expression - . 

31. I heard the torrents leap and gush 
O'er channeled rock and broken bush. 

32. I saw the white-walled, distant town, 
And whiter sails go skimming down. 

33. A small green isle, it seemed no more, 
Scarce broader than my dungeon floor; 
But in it there were three tall trees, 
And o'er it blew the mountain breeze, 
And by it there were waters flowing, 
And on it there were flowers growing 
Of gentle breath and hue. 

34. The fish swam by the castle wall, 
And they seemed joyous each and all. 
The eagle rode the rising blast; 
Methought he never rode so fast 

As then, to me, he seemed to fly. 

35. There lay the fort, the faces of the foe, 

The blackened guns, whose deadly mouths were 

belching fire below ; 
But not a sign to cheer us on. 

36. Above me are the Alps, 

The palaces of nature, whose walls 
Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps 
And throned eternity in icy halls 
Of cold sublimity, where forms and falls 
The avalanche, the thunderbolt of snow. 
All that expands the spirit, yet appalls, 
Gather around these summits, as to show 
How earth may pierce to heaven, yet leave vain man 
below. 



Key to Expression. ?5 

37. Alone I stand. On either hand, 

In gathering gloom, stretch sea and land. 

38. He saw above a mined world the bow of promise rise. 

39. So Lord Howard passed away with five ships of war 

that day, 
Till he melted like a cloud in the silent summer 
heaven. 

40. And he sailed away from Flores till the Spanish came 

in sight, 
With his huge sea castles heaving upon the weather 
bow. 

'11. Thousands of their soldiers looked down from their 
decks and laughed. 

42. And while now the great San Philip hung above us 

like a cloud 

Whence the thunderbolt will fall 

Long and loud, 

Four galleons drew away 

From the Spanish fleet that day, 

And two upon the larboard and two upon the star- 
board lay, 

And the battle thunder broke from them all. 

43. And the Spanish fleet, with broken sides, lay round 

us, all in a ring; 
But they dared not touch us again, for they feared 
that we still could sting. 

44. 'Twas evening, and the half-descending sun 
Tipped with a golden fire the many domes 
Of Athens, and a yellow atmosphere 

Lay rich and dusky in the shaded street 
Through which the captive gazed. 



76 Key to Expression. 

45. And the sunset paled, and warmed once more 
With a softer, tenderer afterglow. 

In the east was moonrise, with boats off shore 
And sails in the distance drifting slow. 
The beacon glimmered from Portsmouth bar, 
And the White Isle kindled her great, red star ; 
And life and death in the old-time lay 
Mingled in peace like the night and day. 

46. You shall die, base dog, 

And that before yon cloud has passed over the sun. 

47. Presently came the night sadly to greet her, 
Moon in her silver light, stars in their glitter; 
Then sank the moon away under the billow. 

48. Up a narrow street 

My company worked. I kept an eye 
On every housetop, right and left, and saw 
From many a roof flames suddenly burst forth, 
Coloring the sky, as from chimney tops among the 
forges. 

49. The fixed smoke rolling away, we noticed, 
Under the huddled masses of the dead, 

Kivulets of blood running trickling down the steps, 
While in the background solemnly the church loomed 
up. 

50. Lighted tapers starred 

The inner gloom with points of gold ; 
The incense gave out its perfume; 
At the upper end, turned to the altar, a priest, 
Wliite-haired and tall of stature, to a close 
Was bringing tranquilly the mass. 



Key to Expression. 77 

5 1 . So stamped upon my memory is that scene 
That as I speak it comes before me now — 
The convent bnilt in old times by the Moors, 
The huge brown corpses of the monks, the sun 
Making the red blood on the pavement steam; 
And there, framed by the low porch, the priest, 
And there the altar, brilliant as a shrine. 

52. Look ! The moon has conie out, clad 

In splendor, the turbulent scene to behold. 
She smiles on the night's devastation ; she 
Dresses the storm king in gold. 

53. From its height the vale, the river, the spires, and 

the towers of Granada broke gloriously upon his 
view. 

54. Up from the meadows rich with corn, 
Clear in the cool September morn, 
The clustered spires of Frederick stand 
Green-walled by the hills of Maryland. 

55. When he came to the middle of the hill that rises 

above those gardens, the steel of the Spanish ar- 
mor gleamed upon him. 

56. He saw from his own watchtower, with the sun shin- 

ing full upon its pure and dazzling surface, the 
silver cross of Spain. 

57. But look ! Through the mists to the southward 

There flash to the eye clear and plain, 
Like a meteor that's bound to destruction, 
The lights of a swift-coming train. 



18 Key to Expression. 

58. Somewhat back from the village street 
Stands the old-fashioned country seat. 
Across its antique portico 

Tall poplar trees their shadows throw. 

59. By the wayside, on a mossy stone, 

Sat a hoary pilgrim sadly musing; 
Oft I marked him sitting there alone, 
All the landscape, like a page, perusing. 

60. I know there is not a man here who would not rather 

see a general, conflagration sweep over the land or 
an earthquake sink it than one jot or tittle of that 
plighted faith fall to the ground. 

61. Yon green meadow was our place for playing; 
That old tree can tell of sweet things said. 

62. In the cottage yonder I was born ; 

Long my happy home that humble dwelling ; 
There the fields of clover, wheat, and corn; 
There the spring with limpid nectar swelling. 

63. Yon white spire, a pencil on the sky, 
Points me to seven that are now in glory. 

64. The dark Eedan, in silent scoff, 

Lay grim and threatening un<Jer ; 
And the tawny mound of the Malakoff 
No longer belched its thunder. 

65. They lay along the battery's side 

Below the smoking' cannon — 
Brave hearts from Severn and from Clyde 
And from the banks of Shannon. 



Key to Expression - . 79 

66. Beyond the darkening ocean burned 

The bloody sunset embers, 
While the Crimean valleys learned 
How English love remembers. 

67. Seest thou across the sullen wave 

A blood-red banner wildly streaming? 
That flag a message brings me 

Of which my foes are little dreaming. 

68. His bark shot on — now up, now down, 

Over the waves — the snowy-crested; 
Now like a dart it sped along, 

Now like a white-winged sea bird rested. 

69. Scaling yonder peak, 

I saw an eagle wheeling near its brow 
O'er the abyss. His broad-expanded wings 
Lay calm and motionless upon the air, 
As if he floated there without their aid. 

70. Instinctively 

I bent my bow ; yet wheeled he, heeding not 

The death that threatened him. I could not shoot. 

'Twas liberty. I turned my bow aside 

And let him soar away. 

71. From crag to crag the signal flew; 
Instant through copse and heath arose 
Bonnets and spears and bended bows. 

72. Now through the gloom appears, 

Far to left and far to right, 
In broken gleams of dark-blue light, ! 

The long array of helmets bright, 
The long array of spears. 



80 Key to Expression. 

73. " Horatius ," quoth the Consul, 

"As thou sayest, so let it be." 
And straight against that great array 
Forth went the dauntless three. 

74. Through teeth and skull and helmet 

So fierce a thrust he sped ; 
The good sword stood a handbreadth out 
Behind the Tuscan's head. 

75. With a crash like thunder 

Fell every loosened beam, 
And, like a dam, the mighty wreck 
Lay right athwart the stream. 

76. Meanwhile the Tuscan army, 

Eight glorious to behold, 
Came flashing back the noonday light, 
Eank behind rank, like surges bright 

Of a broad sea of gold. 
Four hundred trumpets sounded 

A peal of warlike glee, 
As that great host, with measured tread 
And spears advanced and ensigns spread, 
Rolled slowly toward the bridge's head, 

Where stood the dauntless three. 

77. Far, vague, and dim, 
The mountains swim ; 

While on Vesuvius' misty brim, 
With outstretched hands. 
The gray smoke stands 
O'erlooking the volcanic lands. 

78. I was here and she was there, 

And the glittering horseshoe curved between. 



Key to Expkession. 81 

79. They girt the standard round about, 

A wall of flashing steel ; 
But still they heard the battle cry : 
"Oleafor Castile!" 

80. Within its shade of elm and oak 
The church of Berkley Manor stood. 

81. In the meadow, spreading wide 
By woodland and river side, 
The Indian village stood. 

82. I stood on the bridge at midnight 

As the clock was striking the hour, 
And the moon rose o'er the city 
Behind the dark church tower. 

83. I saw her bright reflection 

In the waters under me, 
Like a golden goblet falling 
And sinking into the sea. 

84. And far in the hazy distance 

Of that lovely night in June, 
The blaze of the flaming furnace 
Gleamed redder than the moon. 

85. Among the long, black rafters 

The wavering shadows lay, 
And the current that came from the ocean 
Seemed to lift and bear them away. 

86. The rising moon has hid the stars ; 
Her level rays, like golden bars, 
Lie on the landscape green. 



82 Key to Expression. 

87. Above the pines the moon was slowly drifting, 

The river sang below ; 
The dim Sierras, far beyond, uplifting 
Their minarets of snow. 

88. Behind the black wall of the forest, rose the moon. 

89. When I look from my window 7 at night, 
And the welkin above is all white, 

All throbbing and panting with stars, 
Among them, majestic, is standing 
Sandalphon, the angel, expanding 

His pinions in nebulous bars. 

90. It is almost five hundred feet from where they stand, 

up those perpendicular bulwarks of limestone, to 
the key rock of that vast arch, which appears to 
them only the size of a man's hand. 

91. They stretched in never-ending line 
Along the margin of the bay. 

92. Ho, there, fisherman ! Hold your hand ! 

Tell me, what is that far away ! — 
There, where over the Isle of Land 

Hangs the mist cloud, sullen and gray? 
See ! It rocks with a ghastly life, 

Kising and rolling through clouds of spray, 
Eight in the midst of the breakers strife — 

Tell me, what is it, fisherman, pray? 

93. See, this long curl was kept for you, 

And this white blossom from her breast; 
And here — your sister Bessie wrote 
A letter, telling all the rest. 



Key to Expression. 83 

94. Come one, come all ! This rock shall fly 
From its firm base as soon as I. 

95. But here's a parchment with the seal of Caesar. I 

found it in his closet. 'Tis his will. Let but the 
commons hear this testament, which, pardon me, 
I do not mean to read, and they would go and kiss 
dead Caesar's wounds and dip their napkins in his 
sacred blood. 

96. But yesterday the word of Caesar might have stood 

against the world; now lies he there, and none so 
poor to do him reverence. 

97. Darius was sly; 

And whenever at work he happened to spy 
At chink or crevice a blinking eye, 
He let a dipper of water fly. 
" Take that ; and if ever ye git a peep, 
Guess ye'll ketch a weasel asleep." 

98. " We are two travelers, Eoger and I. 

Eoger' s my dog. Come here, you scamp ! 
Jump for the gentlemen ; mind your eye ; 
Over the table. Look out for the lamp ! " 

99. " We'll have some music, if you're willing, 

And Eoger shall march a. little. 

Start, you villain ! Stand straight ! 

'Bout face ! Salute your officer ! 

Put up that paw ! Dress ! Take your rifle ! 

(Some dogs have arms, you see.) Now hold your 

Cap, while the gentlemen give a trifle 

To aid a poor, old, patriot soldier ! " 



84 Key to Expression. 

100. " Ye crags and peats, I'm with you once again. 

I hold to you the hands you first beheld 
To show you they still are free." 

101. She turns and says, with coldness and command: 
" There's blood enough in this lorn land/' 

102. " Stand either side. 

Take you my left, tall Idaho; and you, my burly 

chief, I know, 
Would choose my right." 

103. " Now peer you low across the waters. 

See ! Leaning so this morn, I spied 
Eed berries dip yon farther side. 
See! Dipping, dripping in the stream, 
Twin bows of autumn berries gleam." 

1 04. " Plunge in the stream ; bear knife in teeth 

To cut yon bow for bridal wreath." 

105. " Ho ! a sail ! Ho ! a sail ! " cried a man at the lea. 

106. " Up drawbridge, grooms — what, warder, ho ! 

Let the portcullis fall." 

107. " Behold ! Commodus will pierce the center of the 

ear of each." 

108. Elizabeth. You are where it becomes you, Lady 

Stuart : there at my feet. 
Mary. O, think on the vicissitudes of all things hu- 
man ! There is a God above who punishes pride. 
Eespect, O Queen, the Providence who doth pros- 
trate me at thy feet. 



Key to Expression. 85 

109. Mary. I am in the hands of God; but thon wilt not 

exceed thy power by committing so atrocious a 
deed. 

110. Mary. At last, at last. After long years of insult 

and contumely, I have at least enjoyed one hour of 
triumph and revenge. 

111. The priest sprang to his feet, and, holding up the iron 

crucifix, said : " On your knees and swear it, John 
Bagot" 

112. Richelieti. Mark where she stands. 

Around her form I draw 
The awful circle of our solemn church. 
Set but a foot within that holy ground, 
And on thy head — yea, though it wore a 

crown — 
I launch the curse of Eome. 

113. "Hush! Draw the curtain! So 

She is dead, quite dead, you see." 

1 14. " Young men, ahoy ! Beware, beware ! The rapids 

are below you. See how fast you pass that point! 
Up with the helm ; now turn, pull hard ! Quick, 
quick, quick ! Pull for your lives ! " 

115. " You all do know this mantle. 

Look ! In this place ran Cassius' dagger through. 
See what a rent the envious Casca made ! 
Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabbed ; 
And as he plucked his cursed steel away, 
Mark how the blood of Cassar followed it." 



so Key to Expression. 

110. "Come away, away. 

We'll burn his body in the holy place, 

And with the brands fire the traitors' houses. 

Take up the body." 

117. "Charge, Chester; charge! On, Stanley; on!" 

118. " Barest thou, Cassius, now leap in with me 

Into this angry flood and swim to yonder point ? 

119. Conscript Fathers: 

I do not rise to waste the night in words. 
Let that Plebian talk; 'tis not my trade; 
But here I stand for right. Let him show proofs; 
For Eoman right, though none, it seems, dare stand 
To take their share with me. Ay, cluster there ! 
Cling to your master, judges, Romans, slaves ! 
His charge is false; I dare him to his proofs. 
You have my answer. Let my actions speak. 

120. At midday, King, I saw in the way, a light from 

heaven above the brightness of the sun, shining 
round about me and them which journeyed with 
me. 

121. Quoth he: "The she wolf's litter stand savagely at 

bay, 
But will ye dare to follow if Astur 
clears the way ? " 

122. Nathan said unto David: "Thou art the man." 

123. " Down, down ! " cried Mar. " Your lances down! 

Bear back both friend and foe ! "' 



Key to Expression. 87 

124. " Tn yon strait path a thousand may well be stopped 

by three; 
Now who will stand on either hand and keep the 
bridge with me ? " 

125. Paul said : " I would to God that not only thou, but 

also all that hear me this day were both almost and 
altogether such as I am, except these bonds." 

126. Two sudden blows with a ragged stick 

And one with a heavy stone, 
One hurried gash with a hasty knife, 

And then the deed was done ; 
There was nothing lying at my foot 

But lifeless flesh and bone. 

127. Above his rugged couch she bends, 

With all the skill that love supplies ; 
With gentlest touch his wounds she tends, 
And seeks to close those watchful eyes. 

128. She leans upon his neck 

To watch the flowing darkness, — 
The bank is high and steep, — 

One pause; he staggers forward 
And plunges in the deep. 

129. Oommodus drew his bow with tremendous power, 

fetching the cord back to his breast, where for a 
moment it was held without the faintest quiver of a 
muscle. 

130. Oommodus stood like Fate, leaning forward to note 

the perfectness of his execution. 



88 Key to Expression. 

131. When suddenly his mantle wide 
His hands impatient flung aside, 
And lo ! he met their wondering eyes 
Complete in all a warrior's guise. 

132. Spread the glad tidings from shore to shore. 

133. His charge is false ; I dare him to his proofs. 

134. Til fight 
Till from my bones my flesh be hacked. 

135. The inebriate descends to the level of the brute. 

136. Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth. 

If you dare fight to-day, come to the fields ; 
If not, when you have stomachs. 

137. I say, thou liest, 

And will maintain what thou hast said is false, 
In thy heart's blood, though being all too base 
To stain the temper of my knightly sword. 

138. Back to thy punishment, false fugitive. 

139. Thy threats, thy mercy, I defy, 
And give thee in thy teeth the lie. 

1-10. Avaunt ! My name is Eichelieu. I defy thee ! 

141. Here I stand and scoff you; 

Here I fling hatred and full defiance in your face. 
He dares not touch a hair of Catiline. 

142. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? 
I know that thou believest. 

143. It shall open wide its portals, the city of the free. 



Key to Expression. 89 

144. Who is here so base that would be a bondman ? 
If any, speak ; for him have I offended. 

Who is here so rude that would not be a Koman ? 

If any, speak ; for him have I offended. 

Who is here so vile that will not love his country ? 

If any, speak ; for him have I offended. 

None ! Then none have I offended. 

145. Now o'er the one-half world Nature seems dead. 

146. Slaves cannot breathe in England ; if their lungs re- 

ceive our air, that moment they are free. 

147. Courage, purpose, endurance — these are the tests. 

148. This man risked his empire rather than permit the 

slave trade in the humblest village of his domin- 
ions. 

149. You read history, not with your eyes, but with your 

prejudices. 

150. Will your Lordship submit to hear the corrupt prac- 

tices of mankind made the principles of govern- 
ment ? 

151. The king has no arbitrary power to give him. 

152. Judges are guided and governed by the eternal laws 

of justice, to which we are all subject. 

153. I despise the falsehood. 

154. The charge is utterly, totally, and meanly false. 

155. In the name of the Commons of England, I charge 

all this villainy upon Warren Hastings, in this last 
moment of my application to you. 



90 Key to Expression. 

156. His schemes were to affect, not England, not the 

present age only, but Europe and posterity. 

157. Aloof from the sordid occurrences of life, and unsul- 

lied by its intercourse, he came occasionally into 
our system to counsel and decide. 

158. Morality flows from principle. 

159. God forgive him the sins of bloodshed! 

160. The poor child of nature knew not the God of reve- 

lation, but the God of the universe he acknowledged 
in everything around. 

161. His degraded offspring crawls upon the soil where he 

walked in majesty. 

162. How miserable is man when the foot of the conqueror 

is on his neck ! 

163. As a race, they have withered from the land. 

164. And now they stay long, and want more — more — 

more. 

165. White man, beware ! 

166. The defeats of to-day may be made the forerunners 

of the victories of to-morrow. 

167. The intellectual and the moral nature of man is the 

one thing precious in the sight of God. 

168. The fire that burns in the Sicilian heart is immortal, 

inextinguishable. 

169. Wisdom is better than riches. 



Key to Expression. 91 

170. No state chicanery, no narrow system of vicious pol- 

itics, no idle contest for ministerial victories, sank 
him to the vulgar level of the great; but overbear- 
ing, persuasive, and impracticable, his object was 
England; his ambition, fame. 

171. Without dividing, he destroyed party; without cor- 

ruption, he made a venal age unanimous. 

172. France sank beneath him. 

173. With one hand he smote the house of Bourbons, and 

wielded in the other the democracy of England. 

174. I prohibit the signing of such a paper. 

175. All that tread the globe are but a handful to the 

tribes that slumber in its bosom. 

176. Give me proofs of what you have alleged. 

177. Ignorance dissolves before the light of knowledge. 

178. I utterly renounce the project. 

179. Were I an American, as I am an Englishman, while 

a single foreign troop remained in my country, I 
would never lay down my arms — never, never, 
never ! 



IV. ANALYSIS. 



The most important phase of the study of reading is 
analysis. It is also the most difficult to teach by written 
instruction. One cannot do more than discuss it in a 
general way, for anything written on the subject is almost 
sure to be misleading. To learn it successfully requires 
the personal assistance of a teacher. Reading will be good 
or bad according to one's conception of what he reads; 
that is, if the voice and body are trained to respond. We 
decide as to whether a reader's conception is good or bad 
according to our conception. If he has a deeper insight 
into the selection, we may be unable to appreciate it or 
loath to acknowledge that it is better. This point is illus- 
trated by the old way of reading the following lines from 
Macbeth and the way they are generally read to-day : 

Macbeth. If we should fail? 

Lady Macbeth. We fail! 

But screw your courage to the sticking place, and we'll not fail. 

The two words we fail repeated by Lady Macbeth 
used to be given as if she were amazed that Macbeth should 
think it possible for them to fail. Now they are read in a 
way which shows the calm determination of the woman, 
expressing that, if they fail, why, then, they fail. They 
must take their chances, and she has the courage to risk it. 

We can agree only in a general way as to an author's 
meaning. As to the details, our conceptions must differ 
as widely as our intellectual and moral developments dif- 
fer. It is evident that no one can give a true rendering 
of a sentiment if that sentiment has not been developed in 



Key to Expression. 



93 



himself. One can read well only that which he under- 
stands and appreciates. No one should attempt to read a 
selection until he appreciates the thought. In order to 
do this, he has to know the meaning of every word and sen- 
tence and the relation of the parts to the whole. There 
is always a principal idea, compared with which all the 
others are of secondary importance, and are directly or 
indirectly connected with it. To determine these relative 
values is a part of the work of analysis. It is doubtful if 
the student who has had no previous training will find 
much help from written instruction. A few examples 
may be of assistance in helping him to see the comparative 
values of words, phrases, clauses, etc. In the sentence : — 

" His long silence on that subject came, no doubt, from his 
pride," 

the parenthetical expression no doubt is of distinctly 
secondary importance. One who does not appreciate this 
relation of the ideas will read the parenthetical expression 
in the same manner in which he reads the rest of the sen- 
tence, thus destroying the sense. In the following : — 

" In the growing darkness, it is almost impossible to distin- 
guish land from water," 

the expression in the growing darkness depends for its 
meaning upon what follows, the meaning of the main idea 
being modified by the dependent phrase. Only when one 
appreciates the relations of the parts to each other can he 
give appropriate expression. In the sentence: — 

" For a minute he gazed at it lovingly and tenderly," 

the expression for a minute is of comparatively little im- 
portance. The words lovingly and tenderly are of equal, 
importance in conveying the complete sense. In the fol- 



94 Key to Expression. 

lowing sentence there are two statements of equal impor- 
tance: — 

"You began with betraying the people: you conclude with 
betraying the king." 

According to the old method of teaching reading, the pupil 
would be told to pause for a certain length of time at the 
colon, in order to show the relation between the two state- 
ments. This method of teaching from the outside can be 
productive of no good; indeed, it is the cause of very much 
of the bad reading which we hear. If the student under- 
stands what he is reading and the relation the various parts 
bear to each other, the proper pauses will follow as a nat- 
ural consequence. This is equally true of emphasis and 
inflection. Of the three adjectives in the sentence: — 

"All was deserted, desolate, dead," 

the last is, of course, the strongest, and the first the weak- 
est. So, also, in : — - 

" That event would usher in not a lull, but a crisis, a series 
of crises." 

As we approach the climax, each expression becomes more 
important and more forcible. 

These simple illustrations show that in every sentence 
there is always a principal idea, compared with which the 
others are of varying minor degrees of importance. This 
is true also of paragraphs and selections as a whole. The 
student must learn to determine for himself the relative 
values of the various ideas. One can only say, " Do it." 
The way to do it he must learn for himself. No mechan- 
ical rules will ever assist him. These, on the contrary, 
only call attention to the manner of reading, to the neg- 
lect of the idea itself. To analyze properly is to rouse the 
mind to action, to think, to see, and to feel with the au- 



Key to Expression. 95 

thor. When one can do this, the inflections will come of 
themselves, the most important ideas will be emphasized, 
words will be grouped together so as to bring out the mean- 
ing, and pauses made showing the various relations of 
ideas and their importance. 

Does it, then, follow that a perfect conception gives a 
perfect expression? At first thought one is inclined to 
answer, "Yes." But long experience in the classroom 
teaches that this is not true. No doubt if we were per- 
fect beings it would be; but we are not perfect. No one 
has 'such a fine voice that it has no faults, or a body so per- 
fectly trained that he never makes a false gesture; hence 
the necessity for training along these lines. Such are the 
perversities of human nature that the most intellectual 
and highly-cultured people are often the poorest readers. 

Along with the development of the power to think and 
feel should be the development of the power to convey the 
thoughts and feelings to others. There can be no doubt, 
however, that much of the bad reading is owing to the 
reader's lack of mental development. The imagination 
plays as important a part in reading as the ability to know 
the relation of words and sentences. The scenes described 
should be seen as vividly and felt as keenly by the reader 
as by the writer. Many times pupils read aloud, and when 
asked to close their books and tell in their own words what 
they have just read, are unable to do so, showing that they 
had no appreciation of it. Not until one has become so 
thoroughly alive to the situation that he can do this, can 
he hope to become a good reader. In the following lines : — 

So this was the country — clear dazzle of azure and shiver, 
And whisper of leaves, and a humming all over the tall, 
White branches, a humming of bees; and I came to a wall — 

A little, low wall — and looked over, and there was the river, 

Clear, shining, and slow, 



96 Key to Expression. 

the reader must enter into the situation, the life, buoyancy, 
and joy of it. He must see the little girl, aged seven, who 
has lived in London all her life, and now sees the country 
for the first time. He must appreciate the freshness and 
beauty of the scene and feel that keen sense of joy in liv- 
ing that the child does — not take all the beauty of the pic- 
ture as a matter of course, as people are apt to do even in 
real life. 

It is impossible to read the following extract from " The 
Merchant of Venice * correctly unless one understands 
Portia's feelings: 

Portia: " I pray you, tarry; pause a day or two 

Before you hazard ; for, in choosing wrong, 

I lose your company. Therefore forbear a while; 

There's something tells me (but it is not love) 

I would not lose you; and you know yourself 

Hate counsels not in such quality. 

But lest you should not understand me well 

(And yet a maiden hath no tongue but thought), 

I would detain you here some month or two 

Before you venture for me." 

Love for Bassanio, dread lest he should choose the wrong 
casket and so she would lose him, longing that he should 
know her heart, combined with a modesty which restrains 
speech, a knowledge that she could teach Bassanio how to 
choose the right casket, offset by a sense of honor which 
forbids her to break her father's will — such are the con- 
flicting emotions which Portia feels as she speaks the lines 
quoted above. 

A technical training necessarily precedes all art. But 
the education of the artist does not end with technic. To 
be a great artist is to be a great man or woman. A school 
for artists should develop the mind and heart as well as 
the voice and body. The most apparent defect of readers 



Key to Expression. 9 V 

is the lack of ability to discriminate between the various 
emotions and sentiments. This weakness has been the 
cause of failure, as public readers, of many who were other- 
wise intelligent persons. As man advances in the scale 
of evolution, his nature becomes more complex, the greater 
range of emotion he has, and the greater variety there is in 
his thoughts. These operations of the soul are expressed 
in the various classes of literature. But the average per- 
son, not having evolved this wide range of thought and 
feeling, is unable to give expression to it. His emotions 
and sentiments, as well as his thoughts, are limited. If 
he would read intelligently that which others have written, 
he must learn to appreciate their sentiments and feelings. 
So limited is the power of feeling possessed by many peo- 
ple that they are unable to do more than get a general idea 
of a selection, the finer shades of emotion being entirely 
beyond them. 

Such persons have but one expression for all degrees 
and phases of emotions of the same nature. For instance, 
a loud lamentation will be their only expression of sorrow. 
Much wailing and tears will be to them a manifestation of 
grief. But every student of human nature knows that the 
greatest grief is subdued and seeks to hide itself from oth- 
ers, just as shame does. The more extreme the manifes- 
tation of an emotion, the more transient it is. To under- 
stand the sentiment requires as close study and analysis 
as to understand the relation of thoughts to one another. 
One would think that agony could readily be distinguished 
as the prevailing emotion in the mother's speech in the 
lines, 

And from the crowd beneath, in accents wild, 

A mother screams: " O God! My child, my child! " 

yet the writer has often questioned the members of a class 
as to what emotion was expressed and received such indefi- 
4 



98 Key to Expression. 

nite answers as " sorrow," " grief," " emotion," " terror/*'' 
" strong excitement ; " nor were these extreme cases. This 
shows that the emotion had not been developed in those 
who gave such answers or it would have been recognized. 
Almost any one will recognize an expression of anger ; but 
there are those upon whom more intellectual expressions, 
such as sarcasm, are lost. It is not only necessary to be 
able to discriminate between the more general divisions of 
the operations of the mind, such as joy and affection, rea- 
son and determination, charity and suspicion; but also be- 
tween the many subdivisions, as joy, rapture, delight, glad- 
ness; or between deception, dissimulation, cunning, hypoc- 
risy. 

Such mental disciiuine will to a great extent overcome 
the stolidity of countenance and monotony of voice that so 
often mar the work of public readers and speakers. How 
often we see " posing," which is suggestive of absolutely 
nothing, unless it be idiocy. The observer would be quite 
unable to make out the purpose of the contortions if he 
were not, fortunately, directed to follow the program 
where he finds a list of emotions which serve to interpret 
the actions referred to as " posing." As the training in 
such cases has usually been mechanical, neither the face 
nor the movements of the body express the sentiment. So 
conscious of his weakness is the performer that he calls the 
painter's art to his assistance. The voice trained by me- 
chanical exercise only is equally expressionless. 

Expression, whether by voice or gesture, should begin 
with the development of the mind. No one's individual- 
ity should be restricted, but each should endeavor to 
broaden his knowledge and his sympathies and to elevate 
his character. By a lack of effort to progress we restrict 
ourselves far more than any mechanical rules, pernicious 



Key to Expression. 99 

in their results though they are. To learn to sympathize 
with all that is, is true progress, the basis of art. 

" There is one mind common to all individual men. 
Every man is an inlet to the same ami to all of the same. 
He that is once admitted to the right of reason is made 
a freeman of the whole estate. What Plato has thought 
he may think; what a saint has felt he may feel; what at 
any time has befallen any man he can understand. Who 
hath access to this universal mind is a party to all that is or 
can be done, for this is the only and sovereign agent." — 
Emerson. 



L.ofC. 



OPERATIONS 
of the 
MIND 

or 

SOUL 

in 

EXPRESSION. 



f EMOTIONS 



'PLEASURE 
and 
PAIN. 



fLOVE 
AFFECTIONS...^ and 

HATE. 



f RIGHT 
SENTIMENTS . . \ and 

WRONG. 



INTELLECT 



IDEAS. 



I WILL ACTION. 



Key to Expression. 



101 



OPERATIONS OF THE EMOTIONS. 

Pleasure and Pain. 



JOY- 




SORROW— 


Gladness 




Distress 


Delight 




Grief 


Rapture 




Affliction 


Ecstasy 




Anguish 
Agony 


CHEERFULNESS— 


DEJECTION— 


Mirth 




Sadness 


Gavety 




Mournfulness 


Hilarity 




Gravity 


Joviality 




Seriousness 
Melancholy 


REJOICING— 




LAMENTATION— 


Exultation 




Mourning 


Triumph 




Wailing 


HOPE— 




DESPAIR- 


Expectation 




Disappointment 


Anticipation 




Despondency 


Aspiration 




Desperation 


CONTENTMENT— 


DISCONTENTMENT 


Satisfaction 




Repining 


Enjoyment 




Longing 


Gratification 




Yearning 


RELIEF— 




AGGRAVATION— 


Comfort 




Anxiety 


Solace 




Exasperation 


Consolation 




Distraction 


PRIDE— 




HUMILITY— 


Dignity 




Meekness 


Disdain 




Obsequiousness 


Haughtiness 


Loftiness 
Arrogance 


Servility 




Presumption 




Assumption 


VANITY— 




MODESTY— 


Conceit 




Bashfulness 


Boasting 




Diffidence 


Vaunting 




Shame 


Bombast 






WONDER— 






Surprise 






Astonishment 




Amazement 



102 



Key to Expression. 



OPERATIONS OF THE AFFECTIONS. 
Love and Hate. 



BENEVOLENCE— 




MALEVOLENCE- 


Beneficence 




Maliciousness 


Kindness 




Malice 


Charity 


Patriotism 


Spitefulness 


BENEDICTION— 




MALEDICTION— 


Invocation 




Curse 


Blessing 


Execration 
Anathema 


Imprecation 


PRAISE— 




DEFAMATION— 


Flattery 




Slander 


Adulation 




Aspersion 


ADORATION— 




ABHORRBNCE- 


Awe 




Horror 


Reverence 




Loathing 


Veneration 




Disgust 


Admiration 


Contempt 

Scorn 

Disdain 


Repugnance 


DERISION- 






Mockery 






Ridicule 






Irony 






Sarcasm 




FRIENDSHIP— 




ENMITY— 


Affection 


Animosity 

Jealousy 

Envy 


Aversion 


SYMPATHY— 




ANTIPATHY— 


Compassion 




Resentment 


Commiseration 




Indignation 


Condolence 




Anger 


Pity 




Wrath 


Mercy 


Rage 
Fury 




FORGIVENESS— 




REVENGE— 


Pardon 


Absolution 


Retaliation 



Key to Expression. 



103 



OPERATIONS OP THE SENTIMENTS. 
Right and Wrong. 

DUTY TRANSGRESSION 



JUSTICE 



INJUSTICE 



HONOR— 

Probity 

Uprightness 

Integrity 



DECEPTION— 

Dissimulation 

Cunning 

Hypocrisy 



DEFENSE— 

Vindication 

Assertion 

Justification 

Affirmation 

Abjuration 

Confutation 

Refutation 

Protestation 

Apology 



Denial 



ACCUSATION- 

Imputation 

Rebuke 

Reproach 

Reproof 

Reprimand 

Invective 

Impeachment 

Denunciation 

Condemnation 



REPENTANCE— 

Penitence 

Contrition 

Compunction 

Remorse 

Atonement 



PRAYER— 

Petition 

Request 

Solicitation 

Entreaty 

Supplication 

Imploring 



104 



Key to Expression. 



OPERATIONS OF THE INTELLECT. 



Abstract 
Analysis 
Induction 
BELIEF— 
Trust 
Faith 



IDEAS— 

Perception 
Apprehension 
Conception 
Comprehension 

THOUGHT— 
Reflection 
Musing 
Pondering 
Abstraction 
Contemplation 
Meditation 
Concentration 

IMAGINATION— 
Fancy 

JUDGMENT— 

Discrimination 

Comparison 

Contrast 

Distinguishing 

Discernment 

Penetration 

Discretion 

Prudence 

REASON— 

Logic 



Concrete 
Synthesis 
Deduction 
DOUBT— 

Suspicion 



Distrust 



WARNING— 

Advice 

Admonition 

Caution 

Exhortation 

Remonstrance 

PREDICTION— 

Premonition 
Foreboding 

CURIOSITY— 

Inquisitiveness 
Prying 

GRANDEUR— 

Sublimity 



Key to Expression. 



10; 



OPERATIONS OF THE WILL. 



Action. 



RESOLUTION— 

Determination 

Perseverance 

Persistency 

Tenacity 

Pertinacity 

Obstinacy 

Stubbornness 

Headstrongness 

Resistance 

Patience 



IRRESOLUTION— 

Indecision 

Vacillation 

Hesitation 

Fickleness 

Relinquishment 

Forsaking 

Abandoning 

Renunciation 

Resignation 

Submission 



Obedience 



DEFIANCE 





Threatening 




Command 




Demand 


COURAGE— 


COWARDICE- 


Confidence 


Diffidence 


Audacity 


Timidity 


Fearlessness 


Fear 


Intrepidity 


Alarm 


Boldness 


Terror 




Daring 




Bravery 




Valor 




Gallantry 




Heroism 



106 



Key to Expression. 



OPERATIONS OF THE EMOTIONS. 
PLEASURE. 

Pleasure is a generic term which embraces one great 

class of emotions and sensations. Its opposite 
is pain. It may be transitory or lasting. It 
does not express degree, and may be produced 
by any and every object. 

Joy is caused by some external circumstances that 

affect the affections. It is one of the most vivid 
emotions. It is transitory, coming and going 
as quickly as the event which caused it. The 
good fortune of ourselves or of those we love 
will cause joy. The return of the prodigal son 
awakened joy in the father's heart. 

Gladness is a more tranquil feeling than joy. More or- 

dinary circumstances occasion it It does not 
seek to express itself, but is enjoyed in secret. 
Gladness may spring from relief from mental 
trouble, from sickness or want. 

Delight is a more lasting emotion than joy. It is de- 

rived from outward circumstances, and may be 
caused either by the affections or the intellect. 
A man may take delight in pursuing his voca- 
tion or a favorite study. He may take delight 
in helping another. 

Rapture is felt by persons having superior minds, and 

is caused by deep thought and by circumstances 
of ^peculiar importance. It often invigorates 
and calls into action the powers of the mind. 
Religious contemplation may produce holy rap- 
ture. 



Ecstasy is an extraordinary elevation of spirits, and, 

unlike rapture, benumbs the faculties of the 
mind, often taking away the power of speech 
and thought. It is experienced by children and 
such as have not control of their feelings. It is 



Key to Expression. 



107 



usually caused by unexpected events. A re- 
prieve from a sentence of death may produce 
ecstasy in the pardoned prisoner. 

CHEERFULNESS. 

Cheerfulness is an habitual state of the mind. It is joy in 
a moderate sense. It is caused by contentment 
and freedom from pain, or by one's ability to 
rise above his conditions. 

Mirth is an occasional elevation of the spirits which 

a trifle may turn into sorrow. It implies noise, 
differing from joy and cheerfulness. It dis- 
plays itself in outward conduct by laughter, 
singing, dancing, etc. 

Gayety belongs to the young, and includes mirth and 

indulgence. It is as fleeting as the pleasure 
upon which it is founded. Frequently it is fol- 
lowed by the extreme opposite emotion. It is 
caused by external circumstances. 

Hilarity is caused by social pleasures, drinking, etc., 

which rouse the animal spirits. The songs, the 
toasts, the conversation, and the spirits of the 
company may at a public dinner contribute to 
hilarity. 

Joviality is less refined than hilarity. It is the good hu- 

mor or mirth indulged in at an entertainment 
Eating, drinking, and noise constitute joviality. 



REJOICING. 

Rejoicing is joy experienced in a high degree. We rejoice 

when that which we think is right prevails. 

Exultation is caused by success or victory or any advan- 

tage gained. It may spring from laudable 
causes, as the suppression of evil; it may 
spring from gratification of pride and ambition, 
as to exult in the downfall of an enemy. We 
may exult in our own distinction or superiority. 



108 Key to Expression. 

Triumph is the manifestation of one's joy for success 

and the downfall of another. Right may tri- 
umph over wrong or wrong over right. 

HOPE. 

Hope is an expectation of good. We hope only for 

that which is welcome to us. We may wish or 
desire that which is unattainable, thereby giv- 
ing ourselves pain and anxiety. We hope only 
for that which we believe we may be able to 
obtain. Hope often depends more on the tem- 
perament of the person than on the nature of 
the circumstances. A writer may hope to win 
fame. 

Expectation is founded on some reasons that render the 
event probable. We may expect either good or 
evil. Expectation always refers to a future 
event. 

Anticipation is to have a previous view or impression of 
what is to happen in the future. We may an- 
ticipate the pleasures of an entertainment. 
Pleasure and pain are often more vivid in an- 
ticipation than in the realization. 

Aspiration is an earnest desire to attain to something 

great, noble, or spiritual; or we may aspire to 
that which is improper, as a boy may aspire 
to be a pugilist. 

CONTENTMENT. 

Contentment is a permanent and habitual state of mind 
which may imply a moderate degree of happi- 
ness. When all our wishes and desires are 
contained within the limits of our present pos- 
sessions, we are contented. 

Satisfaction is a transitory feeling. It results from the 

gratification or fulfillment of desire. The pleas- 
ures of the senses can give no permanent sat- 
isfaction; neither can wealth nor the gratifica- 
tion of ambition. 



Key to Expression. 



109 



Enjoyment is to take pleasure in the possession or experi- 

ence of a thing. It may be either corporeal or 
spiritual. We may enjoy a feast, or we may 
enjoy music or a study. Our capacity for en- 
joyment depends upon our mental endowments. 
It is more permanent, though less vivid, than 
gratification. 

Gratification is enjoyment from the fulfillment of a desire. 
We speak of the gratification of the taste or the 
palate, of the appetites, of the senses, of the 
desires of the mind, soul, or heart. 

RELIEF. 

Relief is the mitigation or removal of pain, grief, or 

other evil. Rest gives relief to the weary body; 
an anodyne gives relief from pain; the sympa- 
thy of friends affords some relief to the dis- 
tressed; a loan of money to a man embarrassed 
may afford him a temporary relief. Medicines 
which will not cure a disease sometimes give a 
partial relief. A complete relief from the trou- 
bles of life is never to be expected. 

Comfort is the ease and quiet which is experienced when 

pain, trouble, agitation, or affliction cease. It 
implies also some degree of positive animation 
of the spirits, or some pleasurable sensations 
derived from hope and agreeable prospects. We 
comfort the afflicted by word or deed. 

Solace is to be cheered or relieved in grief. We con- 

sole others and ourselves. We solace ourselves. 
When we meet with disaster, we solace our- 
selves. In the midst of troubles it is no small 
solace to us to consider that they are not as bad 
as might be. 

Consolation is the alleviation of misery or distress of mind. 
We console others by our words of sympathy; 
we console ourselves by reflection. On the 
death of friends we derive consolation from 



110 



Key to Expression. 



Pride 



Dignity 



Disdain 



Haughtiness 



Loftiness 



the thought that they have exchanged a state 
of imperfection and sorrow for one of unmixed 
felicity. 

PRIDE. 

is employed principally as respects the temper 
of the mind. It lies in the innermost recesses 
of the human heart and mixes itself insensibly 
with our affections and passions. As a noble 
self-esteem springing from a consciousness of 
worth, it seeks to display itself in all that can 
command the respect of mankind; as an unrea- 
sonable conceit of one's own superiority in 
wealth, power, accomplishments, etc., it displays 
itself in an unseemly deportment toward others. 

is always used in a good sense. It arises from 
a consciousness of what is due to oneself. It 
Is natural to some men, and shows itself at all 
times; others have to assume it. All vice is 
incompatible with true dignity of mind. The 
man who deliberately injures another has no 
true dignity of mind. 

is founded on the low opinion we have of oth- 
ers, or the dislike of what is mean and dishon- 
orable. The person of elevated mind disdains 
a mean action; he disdains the society of low, 
worthless persons. In ignoble minds disdain 
may spring from unwarrantable pride and be 
directed toward objects of worth. 

is that form of pride that springs from com- 
paring ourselves with others. It implies a high 
opinion of oneself and a contempt for others. 
The haughty person assumes an air of superior- 
ity. 

is an elevation in condition or character. It is 
a form of pride which raises the spirits above 
objects supposed to be inferior. It does not set 
a man above others so much as above himself, 
or that which concerns himself. 



Key to Expression. 



Ill 



Arrogance is a mode of acting resulting from a state of the 

mind. It arises from exalting one's worth or 
importance to an undue degree. It implies con- 
ceit, presumption, and contempt for others. It 
is known by its lofty pretensions. 

Presumption is founded on undue confidence, accompanied 
hy insolence. It signifies the disposition to put 
oneself forward. The presumptive man tries to 
put himself on a level with those above him. 
It is the act of a small mind, frequently coupled 
with meanness. 

Assumption is a person's taking upon himself to act a part 
which does not belong to him. Assumption has 
to do with one's general conduct; presumption 
relates to matters of right and precedence. A 
person may be guilty of assumption by giving 
commands when he ought to receive them, or 
by speaking when he ought to be silent. He 
is guilty of presumption in taking a seat for 
which he is not fit. 

VANITY. 

Vanity is an inflation of mind upon slight grounds. It 

signifies a light and frivolous mind. Vanity 
is' most frequently found in youth, and is the 
greatest obstacle to improvement. It is appli- 
cable only to small objects. A vain person val- 
ues his dress or anything that is frivolous. 

Conceit is a vain conception of one's own person or ac- 

complishments. When a man is conceited of 
his merits, they are all of his own making. It 
is founded on falsehood. 



Boasting is to make an ostentatious display, in speech, 

of one's own worth, property, or actions. It is 
suitable rather to trifling things than to that 
which is great. A soldier boasts of his cour- 
age and his feats in battle. 



1 1 2 



Key to Expression. 



Vaunting 
Bombast 

Wonder 



is setting oneself before others, proclaiming 
one's praises aloud. 



in high-sounding words 
It arises from vanity. 



is expressing oneself 
that have no meaning. 

WONDER. 

is excited by novelty or the presentation to the 
sight or mind of something new, unusual, great, 
or not well understood. It expresses less than 
astonishment and less than amazement. It dif- 
fers from admiration in not being necessarily 
accompanied with love, esteem, or approbation, 
nor directed to persons. We wonder because 
we do not understand. 



Surprise is caused by that which is unexpected happen- 

ing. It expresses less than wonder and aston- 
ishment. Surprise may startle one. 

Astonishment is so much stronger than surprise that it may 
strike one dumb. It may be awakened by sim- 
ilar events which are more unexpected and 
more unaccountable. 

Amazement is confusion or perplexity from a sudden im- 
pression of fear, surprise, or wonder. It is 
sometimes accompanied with fear or terror; 
sometimes merely extreme wonder or admira- 
tion at some great, sudden, or unexpected event, 
as an unusual sight, or at the narration of ex- 
traordinary events. 

PAIN. 

Pain is a generic term, and is indefinite with regard 

to degree. It may be either mental or physical. 

SORROW. 

Sorrow is the pain of mind produced by the loss of 

any good, or by disappointment in the expecta- 
tion of good, The loss of a friend, or of prop- 



Key to Expression. 



113 



Distress 



Grief 



Affliction 



Anguish 



Agony 



erty, of health, or of any source of happiness 
causes sorrow. It is less in degree than grief. 

is applied to the hody or to the mind. It is 
caused by outside circumstances from which we 
see no signs of escape. Distress is caused by 
the present, but not always immediate, evil. A 
child is in distress when it loses its mother, and 
the mother is in distress when she loses her 
child. 

is produced by loss, misfortune, injury, or evil 
of any kind. We feel grief when we lose a 
friend, when we incur loss, when we consider 
ourselves injured; and by sympathy we feel 
grief at the misfortunes of others. It is also a 
regret that we have done wrong, accompanied 
by repentance for the act. We feel grief for 
having injured a friend. 

is stronger than grief; it lies deeper in the 
soul, and arises from a more powerful cause. 
It is the continued pain of mind or body. Afflic- 
tion lies too deep for vehement expression. It 
is lasting, and does not cease when the external 
causes cease. The loss of that which is most 
dear, the continued sickness of a friend, or a 
reversal of fortune will cause affliction. 

is extreme pain of either body or mind. In a 
physical sense it differs from agony in that it 
is a local pain, while agony is distress of the 
whole body. As pain of the mind, it signifies 
an overwhelming distress from sorrow, remorse, 
despair, and kindred emotions. Parents suffer 
the deepest anguish when their children disap- 
point their dearest hopes by living careers of 
vice. 

is extreme pain, in the strictest sense, so great 
as to cause writhing of the body. It is either 
mental or physical, Christ suffered agony in 



114 



Key to Expression. 



the garden of Gethsemane. A parent suffers 
agony at seeing his child in a burning building 
from which he cannot be snatched, or sinking 
into a watery grave from which he cannot be 
rescued. 

DEJECTION. 

Dejection is a depression of the animal spirits. It is oc- 

casioned by and depends on outward circum- 
stances. It may be caused by distressing 
events. It is indefinite in degree. 

Sadness is applied to a permanent state of a painful 

sentiment, or to that which causes this painful 
sentiment. It is a depression of spirits that 
makes the heart heavy. The loss of a parent 
or child is a sad event, and the bereaved one is 
sad long after the anguish has diminished. A 
sad story contains an account of one's own dis- 
tress. 

Mournfulness is the expression of sorrow. It awakens ten- 
der and sympathetic feelings. Selfish people 
find nothing mournful, though many things sad. 
Tender-hearted people are always afflicted by 
what is mournful more than by that which is 
sad. A mournful story contains an account of 
the distress of others. 

Gravity is produced by thoughtfulness, or that feeling 

of responsibility that prevents buoyancy of spir- 
its. It implies more than the mere absence of 
mirth. It is usually characteristic of those who 
possess it. Some people are habitually grave. 
It may be produced by extreme circumstances, 
as misfortune. 



Seriousness is opposed to jesting or to false pretense. It 

is characteristic of persons or things. It does 
not imply a depression of spirits, but rather a 
steadiness of purpose, and refraining from all 
that is jocular. 



Key to Expression. 



115 



Melancholy is a gloomy state of mind that is of some con- 

tinuance, or habitual. When extreme and of 
long continuance, it is a disease sometimes ac- 
companied with partial insanity. Certain dis- 
eases of the body may produce melancholy. 

LAMENTATION. 

Lamentation is the expression of grief. It is a transitory 
feeling. We may lament a thing to-day whic'i 
we may forget to-morrow. When one is in great 
distress of mind, he may break out into lamen- 
tations. The cause may be sorrow or imagi- 
nary grievance, or we may lament because of 
the sorrow of others. 

Mourning, unlike lamentation, is composed and free from 

noise. It may, however, be expressed by audi- 
ble sounds, or by sobs, sighs, etc.; or it may be 
inward, silent grief. That which tears asunder 
the ties of friendship produces mourning. It 
may be the common act of many. A nation 
mourns the death of a great statesman. Mourn- 
ing usually begins when lamentation ceases. 

"Wailing is an unrestrained expression of grief. It is 

common among the uncultivated classes who 
have not learned to restrain their feelings. It 
is stronger than lamentation. A wretched 
mother may bewail the loss of her child. 



DESPAIR. 

Despair is the loss of all hope. It is a state of the mind 

produced by reflection, whether on subjective 
things or on outward circumstances from which 
there seems to be no escape. Desperation often 
follows despair. Sometimes it interrupts or 
checks exertion, as when a physician despairs 
of curing a patient. The strongest minds some- 
times despair when circumstances warrant the 
feeling. 



I 1(5 



K\:\ to Expression. 



Disappointment is the defeat or nonfulfillment of our expecta- 
tions, hopes, desires, or wishes. A man may bs 
disappointed in the conduct of his friends, in 
the result of an election, or in the yield in his 
crops. 

Despondency implies a loss of hope or resolution. It is not 
so strong as despair. Despondency is generally 
followed by a cessation of effort; despair often 
impels to greater exertion. Despondency is in- 
active despair. 

Desperation implies despair and a loss of regard for one's 

own safety or danger. It impels to greater ex- 
ertion, as when a soldier sees nothing but death 
or disgrace before him he is driven to acts of 
desperation. It sometimes serves to overcome 
the difficulty that seemed insurmountable. Per- 
sons of impetuous temperament are apt to be- 
come desperate when a clearer judgment would 
not warrant it. 

DISCONTENTMENT. 

Discontentment is a habitual state of mind which denotes lack 
of satisfaction with existing circumstances. 
Idleness is a fruitful source of discontent. 

Repining is fretting or murmuring. It implies thinking 

of- a thing with pain, of something that is deep- 
seated. Men may repine at their lot. We may 
repine in secret. It is often addressed to one- 
self. 

Longing is desiring earnestly and impatiently. In a for- 

eign country we may long to see our native 
land. 



Yearning implies longing coupled with tenderness or pity. 

A mother's heart yearns for her child. 



Key to Expression. 



117 



AGGRAVATION. 

Aggravation is to make worse or less tolerable, as to aggra- 
vate the evils of life, to aggravate pain or pun- 
ishment. It is generally used in reference to 
evils. 

Anxiety is that uneasy, painful state of mind that is 

caused by the uncertainty of some event. The 
cause may be real or imaginary. The parent is 
anxious for the welfare of his child who is 
about to enter into affairs of the world. 

Exasperation is the result of anger being aroused to an ex- 
traordinary pitch. It is an extreme degree of 
anger. 

Distraction is a state in which the mind is so confused by 

a multiplicity of objects crowding before it that 
it becomes unable to think of anything prop- 
erly. It is a stronger term than confusion. 
Webster says it is usually applied to a state of 
derangement which produces raving and vio 
lence in the patient. 



HUMILITY. 

Humility is the opposite of arrogance. It is a sense of 

inferiority in comparison with others, whether 
of rank, station, or character. It is not a pleas- 
ing sensation, for a poor estimation of one's 
own worth as compared with others gives a 
sense of pain. A sense of one's unworthiness 
gives a feeling of sorrow. When it shows itself 
in outward conduct, it bows itself down. 

Meekness is forbearance under injuries and provocations. 

It is taken in the passive sense of not resi sting- 
force. It requires greater force of character to 
rise above the circumstances which anger than 
to retaliate. 

Obsequiousnz-j is a mean and servile bending to the will of an- 
other, with some self-interest in doing so. In 



118 



Key to Expression. 



outward conduct it shows itself by a cringing 
movement of the body. 

Servility is a slavish deference to custom, whether to 

manners or opinions. It shows a lack of fore 2 
of character. 

MODESTY. 

Modesty is a moderate estimate of one's own worth or 

importance. It is inherent in thos2 who pos- 
sess it. In young people it springs from timid- 
ity, and is allied to bashfulness and diffidenca. 
In persons who have seen the world and los; 
their natural timidity, modesty springs from as- 
suming less to oneself than others ara willing 
to yield, and conceding to others all due honor 
and respect, or even more th.m they expect or 
require. Its outward expression is that of 
shrinking. 

Bashfulness is modesty of the young. It is akin to a feel- 

ing of shame for one's own unworthiness. It 
expresses itself by blushes and downcast looks. 

Diffidence is the distrust of one's own power, competency, 

or wisdom. We speak or write with diffidence 
when we doubt our ability to speak or write cor- 
rectly or to the satisfaction of others. Diffi- 
dence is a great barrier to a successful career. 
A diffident person is unable to turn his talents 
to account. 



Shame 



is a painful sensation caused by a consciousness 
of having done that which injures one's reputa- 
tion. Shame is particularly excited by the dis- 
closure of actions which, in the view of men, 
are mean and degrading. 



Key to Expression. 



119 



OPERATIONS OF THE AFFECTIONS. 
LOVE. 

Love is aroused by whatever gives pleasure and de- 

light, whether animal or intellectual. We love 
a friend on account of some qualities which give 
us pleasure in his society. We love a man who 
has done us a favor, in which case gratitude 
enters into the composition of our affections. 
We love our parents and our children on ac- 
count of their connection with us and on ac- 
count of many qualities which please us. We 
love to retire to a cool shade in summer. We 
love a warm room in winter. We love to hear 
an eloquent speaker or fine music. We love our 
country. Human beings love God, and God 
loves those he has created. God is love. There 
is the love of the mother for the child, which is 
seen in the animal kingdom as well as in the 
human kingdom. 

BENEVOLENCE. 

Benevolence is the general desire to do good and to increase 
the happiness of mankind. It is an affair of 
the heart. 

Beneficence is active goodness or kindness. It belongs to 

action. The benevolent man has the wish to 
do good, but may not have the opportunity; the 
beneficent man does the act of kindness. 



Kindness is the wish to make others happy and to avoid 

anything that might give another pain. 

Charity, in a general sense, is love, benevolence, and 

good will; that disposition of heart which in- 
clines men to think favorably of their fellow- 
men and to do them good. It is liberality in 
judging of men and their actions, a disposition 
which inclines men to think and judge favor- 
ably, and to put the best construction on words 
and actions which the case will permit. It is 



120 



Patriotism 



Key to Expression. 

liberality to the poor, consisting in almsgiving 
or benefactions, or in gratuitous service to re- 
lieving them in distress. 

is the love of one's country; the passion which 
aims to serve one's country, either in defending 
it from invasion or protecting its rights and 
maintaining its laws and institutions in vigor 
and purity. 



BENEDICTION. 

Benediction is a solemn or affectionate invocation of happi- 

ness, thanks, expression of gratitude. 

Invocation is the act of calling for assistance, or the pres- 

ence of any being, particularly of some divin- 
ity, as the invocation of the Muses. 

Blessing is a solemn, prophetic benediction, in which 

happiness is desired, invoked, or foretold. That 
which gives happiness is also called a blessing. 



Praise 



Flattery 



is a general and indefinite term. It is commen- 
dation bestowed on a person for his virtues or 
worthy actions, or on anything valuable. Praise 
may be expressed by an individual, and in this 
circumstance differs from fame, renown, and 
celebrity, which are the expressions of the ap- 
probation of numbers or public commendation. 
When praise is applied to the expression of 
public approbation, it may be synonymous with 
renown, or nearly so. A man may deserve the 
praise of an individual or of a nation. 

is false praise, commendation bestowed for the 
purpose of favor and influence or to accomplish 
some purpose. We flatter directly by words ex- 
pressive of admiration; we flatter indirectly by 
actions which convey the same sentiment. 



Key to Expression. 



121 



Adulation is praise in excess, or beyond what is merited. 

It is never practiced without falsehood. Its 
means are hypocrisy and lying. It has in view 
a selfish end. 

ADORATION. 

Adoration is the service of the heart toward the divine Be- 

ing. Outward signs are but secondary in the act 
of adoration. We may adore the Supreme at 
all times and in all places. 

Awe is fear mingled with solemnity, admiration, and 

reverence. It may be aroused by the senses 
and the understanding. Sublime, sacred, and 
solemn things awaken awe. It checks one's ap- 
proach and causes him to feel that he is not 
worthy to draw nearer. 

Reverence, like awe, denotes a feeling of fear mingled with 

respect and admiration. It differs from awe 
in that awe does not imply love or affection. 
That which is noble, as wisdom, goodness, age, 
may inspire one with reverence. 

Veneration is the highest degree of respect and reverence. 

It differs from reverence in that it has none of 
the feeling of fear. It is aroused by the supe- 
riority of a person, by the dignity of position 
or the sacredness of his character. The thought 
of a sacred place awakens veneration. 

Admiration is a compound emotion aroused by something 

that is unusual, rare, great, or excellent, and 
which gives pleasure. We may admire people 
or their works. 



Friendship is attachment to a person formed by circum- 

stances, sympathies, or sentiments. It differs 
from benevolence, which is good will to man- 
kind in general, because it implies a good will 
between individuals and appreciation of the 
good qualities of another. True friendship is 



\-22 



Key to Expression. 



beyond a person of the ordinary stamp of char- 
acter. 

Affection is confined to individuals. It is a tendency of 

the mind toward any object, whether that ob- 
ject is present or not. Affection may exist be- 
tween people of the same sex. The parent has 
affection for his child. 

SYMPATHY. 

Sympathy is a conformity of feelings, and may cause us 

either pain or pleasure. We feel sympathy for 
those who are in distress, which causes us pain. 
We may feel joy also in consequence of anoth- 
er's feeling it. 



Compassion 



is sorrow awakened by the suffering of another. 
It is composed of sorrow and love. 



Commiseration is awakened by suffering arising from our 
faults. A poor criminal, suffering the penalty 
of the law, excites our commiseration, and we 
endeavor to mitigate his punishment. It is 
awakened toward those who are in abject mis- 
ery. 

Condolence is a state of sorrow caused by the distress or 

misfortune of another. Condolence implies 
equality, and is often produced by a common 
calamity. It is caused by the troubles to which 
all are liable. 



Pity 



is a feeling of pain for the condition of others. 
Pity implies a condescension, so that many peo- 
ple who would be glad of sympathy would scorn 
pity. A master may have pity upon an offend- 
ing servant. We may pity one who is con- 
demned to death for committing a crime. We 
may pity animals that are in misery. We show 
our pity by endeavoring to relieve the suffering. 



Key to Expression. 



123 



Mercy 



Forgiveness 



Pardon 



Absolution 



Hate 



Malevolence 



Maliciousness 



Malice 



is that kindness of disposition which prompts 
us to overlook offenses and injuries, or to 
lighten the punishment of offenders. In some 
cases mercy is restricted by the laws of the 
country. It is not allowed to interfere with the 
administration of justice. 

FORGIVENESS. 

is not giving the punishment that is due, and 
considering and treating the offender as if he 
were not guilty. 

is the release of the offender to bear the dis- 
pleasure of the person injured, or the absolving 
him from liability to suffer punishment at tne 
hands of the law. We seek the pardon of sins, 
transgression, and offenses. 

is the remission of sins pronounced by a priest 
in favor of the penitent, or a sentence of a judge 
declaring an accused person innocent. 

HATE. 

is extreme dislike. It is a personal feeling di- 
rected toward an object independent of its qual- 
ities. It seeks the destruction of the object. It 
may be either good or bad, according to the cir- 
cumstances. Good people hate that which is 
evil. Hate expresses less than abhor, detest, 
or abominate. 

is an inclination to injure others. It has a deep 
root in the heart, and is a part of the charac- 
ter. We call such a person malevolent to desig- 
nate the ruling quality of his mind. 

is having ill will or enmity without cause. It 
is a stronger term than malevolence. One may 
have a malicious pleasure in seeing others in 
distress. 

lies in the heart. It is the very essence of wick- 
edness, the love of evil for evil's sake. It im- 



ll'4 



Key to Rxpression. 



pels a man to injure those who have not in- 
jured him, and requires no external cause to 
provoke it. 

Spitefulness is the desire to vex, annoy, or to do mischief. 

It is the effect of extreme irritation, and is ac- 
companied' with a desire of revenge. It denotes 
a less deliberate and fixed hatred than malice 
and malignity, and is often a sudden fit of ill 
will excited by temporary vexation. It may be 
in the temper of the person or caused by ex- 
ternal circumstances. 



Malediction 

Corse 

Imprecation 
Execration 

Anathema 



Defamation 



MALEDICTION. 

is declaring an evil wish against a person. It 
is an expression of private resentment, and is 
caused by anger. Men in the heat of anger will 
utter maledictions against anything that offends 
them. 

is a wish for evil to befall another declared in 
a solemn manner. It is generally occasioned 
by some grievous offense. It is a solemn de- 
nunciation of evil. 

is a prayer that a calamity may fall on any one. 
It implies some great evil. 

is to denounce evil against any one. It is the 
expression of the most violent personal anger, 
and implies a feeling of detestation, abhorrence, 
or abomination. 

• 
is a curse or denunciation pronounced by an ec- 
clesiastical authority, accompanying excommu- 
nication, or the denunciation pronounced by a 
convert on the heresy which he abjures. 

DEFAMATION. 

is to utter that which is false with the intention 
of injuring the reputation or occupation of an- 
other. 



Key to Expression. 



L25 



Slander 



Aspersion 



is to endeavor to injure the estimation of an- 
other by positive assertions. It is to expose 
the faults of another in his absence. Communi- 
cating to others the reports that are in circu- 
lation to another's disadvantage is slander. 
These reports may be true or false. 

is to stain the reputation of another. It is an 
indirect representation implying something bad. 
real or supposed. It is to speak slightingly of 
another, making insinuations against his pu- 
rity of principle or the honesty of his conduct. 



ABHORRENCE. 

Abhorrence signifies extreme hatred mingled with contempt. 

We abhor that which is repugnant to our moral 
feelings, that which is base and ungenerous. 

Horror is often a passion compounded of fear and ha- 

tred or disgust. The recital of a bloody deed 
fills us with horror. 

Loathing is an extreme aversion to anything. It is pro- 

duced by the physical senses. We loathe food 
when we are sick; we may loathe the sight of 
disagreeable objects. In the moral acceptation 
it is a strong figure of speech to mark the dis- 
gust and abhorrence which the thought of any- 
thing offensive produces. We loathe the en- 
dearments of those who are offensive. 

Disgust. is an unpleasant sensation excited in the organs 

of taste by something disagreeable. It is not 
so strong as loathing. It is also an unpleasant 
sensation of the mind aroused by something of- 
fensive in the manner, conduct, language, or 
opinion of another. It may be transitory or 
otherwise. It owes its origin to the nature of 
things and their natural operation on the mind. 

Repugnance signifies the opposition of the feelings to any- 
thing, and implies strong dislike. That which 



126 



Key to Expression. 



is morally wrong is repugnant to the honor as 
well as to the interests of the offender. Repug- 
nance is a transitory feeling. 

Contempt is the act of considering and treating as mean, 

vile, and worthless. It is one of the strongest 
expressions of disapproval. As applied to per- 
sons, it may be justly provoked by their char- 
acter. 

Scorn is extreme contempt. It implies that the ob- 

ject is stripped of honor and exposed to deri- 
sion, and also a consciousness of our own su- 
periority. 

Disdain is to consider to be unworthy of notice, care, 

regard, esteem, or unworthy of one's character. 
The wealthy man treats with disdain him whom 
he despises for his poverty. The man of ele- 
vated mind disdains a mean action. 

DERISION. 

Derision is the manifestation of one's contempt by laugh- 

ter, gesticulation, or cutting words. Often it is 
deep, not loud. It is a direct attack on the in- 
dividual, and always has a mixture of hostility 
in it. 

Mocking is ridiculing a thing by imitating it. It is usu- 

ally noisy and outrageous, sometimes break- 
ing out into insulting buffoonery, and sometimes 
accompanied with personal violence. It is a 
personal attack, and indicates a degree of hos- 
tility. 

Ridicule is saying that which is intended to awaken 

laughter with some degree of contempt. It ex- 
presses less than scorn. Ridicule is aimed at 
that which is not only laughable, but improper, 
absurd, or despicable. It is frequently unac- 
companied with any personal feeling of dis- 
pleasure. A person may be ridiculed on account 
of his eccentricities. 



Key to Expression. 



127 



Irony seems to praise that which it really condemns. 

It may be detected by the manner of expression. 
It is generally accompanied by a smile or an 
arch look, or perhaps by an affected gravity of 
countenance. 

Sarcasm is keen, reproachful expression uttered with 

some degree of scorn or contempt. There is an 
example of this in the remark of the Jews re- 
specting Christ on the cross: " He saved others; 
himself he cannot save." 

ENMITY. 

Enmity, the quality of being an enemy, is the opposite 

of friendship. It expresses ill will or hatred to- 
ward another. It expresses more than aversion 
and less than malice. Enmity is often con- 
cealed in the heart, and does not betray itself by 
any open act of hostility. It is a permanent 
feeling. 

Aversion expresses moderate hatred, or opposition of 

mind. It is not so strong as abhorrence or det- 
estation. People of gloomy temperament have 
an aversion for society. 

Animosity is violent hatred leading to active opposition. 

Enmity may be secret and inactive; animosity 
is active. It expresses less than malice. 

Jealousy arises from the fear that a rival may rob us of 

the affections of one whom we love, or the sus- 
picion that he has already done it; or it arises 
from the fear that another does or will enjoy 
some advantage which we desire for ourselves. 
A husband may be jealous of his wife or a wife 
of her husband; the candidate for office mani- 
fests a jealousy of others who seek the same 
office; the jealousy of a student is awakened 
by the apprehension that his fellow will bear 
away the palm of praise. It is applicable to 
bodies of men as well as individuals. Nations 



1LVS 



Key to Expression. 



Envy 



Antipathy 



Resentment 



Indignation 



Anger 



Wrath 



Rage 



are jealous of any interference on the part of 
any other power in commerce, government, or 
territory. 

and jealousy are closely allied. Jealousy, be- 
fore a good is lost by ourselves, is converted 
into envy after it is obtained by others. A man 
may be envious of that which others possess, 
which he desires himself, as rank, honor, wealth, 
etc. 

is a natural or instinctive feeling against a 
person or thing. It may be of different degrees, 
sometimes the presence of the object exciting 
terror or horror. Children often have an an- 
tipathy for grown people or for some animal. 
Antipathy may also be contracted from habit 
or experience. 

RESENTMENT. 

is continued anger. It arises from a sense of 
wrong offered to ourselves or to our friends. 
It is associated with a dislike of the offender as 
much as the offense. It usually expresses less 
excitement than anger. It is not so strong as 
wrath, exasperation, or indignation. 

is anger mingled with disapproval, contempt, or 
abhorrence. It is awakened by the unworthy 
and base conduct of others. It may arise from 
a high sense of honor. 

is a violent passion aroused by a real or sup- 
posed injury of ourselves or our friends. It va- 
ries in degree. 

is a heightened sentiment of anger. It is the 
feeling of a superior toward an inferior, and, 
when provoked by personal injuries, expresses 
itself "by haughtiness and a vindictive temper. 

is inflamed or violent anger accompanied with 
furious words or gestures. 



Key to Expression. 



129 



Fury is an excess of rage which takes away the use 

of the understanding. 

REVENGE. 

Revenge is to inflict pain deliberately and maliciously, 

contrary to the laws of justice and humanity, in 
return for injury, pain, or evil received. To 
avenge is to punish on behalf of another. Re- 
venge is to punish for oneself. 

Retaliation is the return of like for like; the doing that 

to another which he has done for us; to make 
another suffer in return for the suffering he has 
caused. A trick practiced upon another in re- 
turn for a trick is retaliation. It is often em- 
ployed in a good sense, return of good for good. 

OPERATIONS OF THE SENTIMENTS. 
RIGHT. 

Right signifies that which is just and proper and be- 

coming. Right is a relative term. That which 
may be right for one person may be wrong for 
another. A man's intentions may be right, 
though his actions be wrong. It is right that 
we should obey the laws of the country in which 
we live, provided these laws are in harmony 
with our consciences. That which we regard 
as right or wrong will depend largely on our 
mental development and our education. The 
heathen mother may think it right to sacrifice 
her child in the Ganges or herself on the fu- 
neral pyre of her husband. The Christian may 
think it right to take the life of one convicted 
of murder or to settle national disputes by war. 
A man may think it right to forgive his ene- 
mies. 

Duty consists of what is right or due from one per- 

son to another; that which a person is bound by 
some obligation to do. There can be ho duty 
without a previous obligation, and where there 
is an obligation it involves a duty. Duty is ap- 



130 



Key to Expression. 



Justice 



Honor 



Probity 



Uprightness 



Integrity 



Defense 



plicable to the conduct of men in their various 
relations. Obligation is applicable only to par- 
ticular circumstances or modes of action. 

is giving to every one that which is his due. 
It is founded on the laws of society. Equity is 
founded on the laws of nature. Justice is a 
written or prescribed law to which one is bound 
to conform and make it the rule of one's deci- 
sions. Justice forbids our doing wrong to any 
one, and requires us to repair the wrongs we 
have done to others. The proper object of jus- 
tice is to secure property; that of equity, to se 
cure the rights of humanity. 

is true nobleness of mind; it is an independ- 
ent principle which actuates men in the ad- 
justment of their rights with each other. 

respects the rights of men, giving every one 
his due, whether as regards his property, rep- 
utation, honor, or anything on which a value 
is set. Probity of mind is best shown by prob- 
ity of conduct in social dealings, particularly in 
adhering to strict integrity in the observance 
and performance of rights called imperfect 
which public laws do not reach and cannot en- 
force. 

is not deviating from that which one thinks is 
right, in opposition to every temptation. A per- 
son may be said to be upright in all situations 
when confidence and intelligence are required. 

signifies soundness of principle. He who faith- 
fully discharges his trust and consults the in- 
terests of others rather than his own is justly 
styled a man of integrity. 

DEFENSE. 

is a generic term, which defines nothing with 
regard to the degree and manner of action. The 
primary sense is to put anything before a per- 



Key to Expression. 



131 



son; a covering. Defense requires some action 
either of body or mind, and is employed either 
in matters of opinion or conduct. Acts of im- 
portance are defended. Persons may defend 
others. Soldiers may defend their country. De- 
fense presupposes a consciousness of innocence 
more or less. 

Vindication is a defense or justification of anything, wheth- 
er by force or otherwise, as the vindication of 
the rights of man, the vindication of our liber- 
ties or rights of conscience, or the vindication 
of opinion. 

Assertion is to declare or affirm positively. We assert 

anything to be true. Innocence is asserted by 
positive declaration. A right or claim is as- 
serted which is avowed to belong to any one. 
We confute an assertion. 

Justification is founded on the conviction, not only of entire 
innocence, but of strict propriety. We justify 
our conduct against any imputation by prov- 
ing it was blameless. It is applicable to all 
moral causes in common life. 

Affirmation is declaring a thing as a fact or giving strength 
to what has been said. A person affirms what 
he has seen or what he sees. Affirmations are 
employed in giving evidence, whether accom- 
panied with an oath or not. We affirm that 
which we know to be true. We contradict that 
which we know is untrue. 



Abjuration is a renunciation upon oath, a rejection or de- 

nial with solemnity. Interests often lead men 
to abjure their faith. Henry IV., of France, ab- 
jured Calvinism. 

Confutation is disproving, or proving to be false or invalid. 

Arguments, opinions, reasoning, theory, or er- 
ror may be overthrown or confuted. 



13a Key to Expression. 

Refutation is proving to be false or erroneous. It respects 

that which is practical and personal. A charge 
is refuted by proving the innocence of the per- 
son charged. Calumnies may be confuted. 

Protestation is a solemn declaration of opinion, commonly 
against some act. One may protest one's inno- 
cence. Protestation is accompanied with every 
act, look, or gesture that can tend to impress 
conviction on another. 

Apology is an excuse, something said or written in de- 

fense or extenuation of what appears to others 
wrong or unjustifiable, or of what may be lia- 
ble to disapprobation. It may be an extenuation 
of what is not perfectly justifiable, or a vindi- 
cation of what is or may be disapproved, but 
which the apologist deems to be right. A man 
makes an apology for not fulfilling an engage- 
ment or for publishing a pamphlet. 

Denial is an assertion that a declaration or fact stated 

is not true. It is always a direct answer to a 
charge. Our veracity or judgment is often the 
only thing implicated in the denial. 

REPENTANCES. 

Repentance is the pain or grief which a person feels in 

consequence of the injury or inconvenience pro- 
duced by his own conduct. We may repent that 
we have lost much time in idleness or sensual 
pleasure; that we have injured or wounded the 
feelings of a friend. A person repents only of 
what he himself has done or said. It supposes 
a change of conduct at least as long as the sor- 
row lasts. 

Penitence is sorrow for sins or offenses which springs from 

a conviction of guilt and ingratitude to God, 
and is followed by amendment of life. Peni- 
tence is applicable only to spiritual guilt. We 
may have penitence for a thing all our lives. 



Key to Expression. 



133 



Contrition is a continued and severe sorrow, appropriate 

to one who has been in a continued state of pe- 
culiar sinfulness. It is awakened by reflecting 
on particular offenses. The prodigal son was a 
contrite sinner. 

Compunction is an occasional but sharp sorrow provoked by 
a single offense or a moment's reflection. 

Remorse is a pain or grief awakened by some particular 

offense of peculiar magnitude and atrocity. It 
may be temporary, but it is stronger than com- 
punction. David was struck with remorse for 
the murder of Uriah. 

Atonement is satisfaction or reparation made by giving an 

equivalent for an injury, or by doing or suffer- 
ing that which is received in satisfaction for an 
offense or injury. Offenses between man and 
man are sometimes atoned for by an acknowl- 
edgment of error. 



Prayer 



PRAYER. 

is a solemn address to the Supreme Being, con- 
sisting of adoration, confession of sins, suppli- 
cation for mercy and forgiveness, intercession 
for blessings on others, and thanksgiving for 
mercies and benefits. The prayer is made for 
everything that is of the first importance to us 
as living beings. When the term prayer is ap- 
plied to men, it carries with it the idea of ear- 
nestness and submission. 



Petition may be supplication to a Supreme Being or a 

supplication from an inferior to a superior, ei- 
ther to a single person clothed with power or 
to a legislative or other body, asking some fa- 
vor, grant, right, or mercy. The petition is 
made for that which may satisfy our desires. 
It is more generally made to our fellow-crea- 
tures. 



134 



Key to Expression. 



Request 



Solicitation 



Entreaty 



Supplication 



Imploring 



Wrong 



Transgression 



is the expression of desire to some person for 
something to be granted or done. It is but a 
simple expression, and marks an equality. One 
friend makes a request of another. It is an in- 
dividual act between men in their private re- 
lations. 

is a seeking to obtain something from another 
with some degree of zeal and earnestness. One 
solicits by virtue of one's interests. 

is to ask earnestly. An entreaty is urgent and 
made in matters that deeply interest the feel- 
ings. One entreats by force of reasoning and 
strong representation. Entreaty differs from 
request in the nature of the object and the mode 
of preferring. 

is an earnest and humble request. It signifies 
to bend the body down in token of submission 
or distress in order to awaken notice. It de- 
notes a state of abject distress. A slave sup- 
plicates his master for pardon when he has of- 
fended. 

is praying earnestly. One implores by every 
mark of dejection and humiliation. It is re 
sorted to by sufferers for the relief of their mis- 
eries. One may implore for mercy. 

WRONG. 

is a violation of right; an injury done by one 
person to another in express violation of jus- 
tice. "Wrongs are either public or private. It 
is a generic term. 

is the violation of a law or known principle of 
rectitude. A man may transgress the moral or 
civil law. The offenses which constitute trans- 
gression flow out of the laws of society in gen- 
eral, which fix the boundaries of right and 
wrong. It is a species of moral as well as po- 
litical evil. 



Key to Expression. 



135 



INJUSTICE. 

Injustice is any violation of another's rights, as fraud in 

contracts or the withholding of what is due. 
It has a particular reference to an unequal dis- 
tribution of rights, property, or privileges 
among persons who have equal rights; the 
withholding from another merited praise or as- 
scribing to him unmerited blame. 

DECEPTION. 

Deception is the act of misleading. It signifies produ- 

cing a false conviction. It may be practiced in 
a diversity of ways from a diversity of motives. 
It may be practiced by an individual on himself 
or on others. Deception is the act of an igno- 
rant, low, or weak mind. 

Dissimulation is the making of oneself appear unlike what 
one really is. The dissembler conceals his 
vices when he wants to gain the simple or ig- 
norant to his side. 

Cunning implies the use of artifice to accomplish the pur- 

pose, rather than open, candid, or direct means. 
It marks the disposition to practice disguise in 
the prosecution of a plan. It is of a thoughtful 
and cunning mind, and always has self in view. 
The cunning man seeks his own gratification 
without regard for others. 

Hypocrisy is a feigning to be what one is not; a conceal- 

ment of one's real character or motives. Th? 
hypocrite assumes a false appearance of virtue 
or religion. 

ACCUSATION. 

Accusation is the act of asserting that which is prejudicial 

to another. We accuse only to make known the 
offense, to provoke inquiry. We may accuse a 
person of murder. 

Imputation is the act of attributing or charging, generally 

in an ill sense. We are liable to the imputation 
of numerous sins and errors; to the imputation 



136 



Key to Expression. 



Rebuke 



Reproach 



Reproof 



Reprimand 



Invective 



of pride, vanity, and self-confidence; to the impu- 
tation of weakness and irresolution or rashness. 
Sometimes imputation is used in a good sense. 

is a reproving for faults. It has less to do with 
the relation or station of the persons than with 
the nature of the offense. Improprieties of be- 
havior demand rebuke. Christ rebuked Peter 
for his presumptuous mode of speech. A re- 
buke is given with coolness. 

is censure mingled with contempt or derision; 
contumelious " or opprobrious language toward 
any person. It denotes the expression of per- 
sonal feeling, and may be just or unjust. Re- 
proaches are frequently dictated by resentment 
or self-interest. 

is blame expressed to the face; censure for a 
fault. Irregularities of conduct give rise to re- 
proof. Nathan reproved King David for his 
heinous offense. Reproof is given with cool- 
ness. 

marks a stronger degree of displeasure than 
reproof or rebuke. Omissions or mistakes oc- 
casion or require a reprimand. It is employed 
for offenses against the individual and in cases 
where the greatest disparity exists in the sta- 
tion of the persons. A servant is reprimanded 
by his master. 

is a railing expression intended to cast oppro- 
brium, censure, or reproach on another. It dif- 
fers from reproof, as the latter may come from 
a friend and be intended for the good of the 
person reproved; but invective proceeds from 
an enemy, and is intended to give pain or to 
injure. It is dictated by party spirit or an in 
temperate warmth of feeling in matters of opin- 
ion. It is the ebullition of zeal and ill nature 
in public concerns. It is used against the thing 
rather than against the person. 



"Key to Expression. 



1:57 



Impeachment is an accusation or charge brought against a 
public officer for maladministration in his of- 
fice. He who impeaches only asserts the guilt, 
but does not determine it. 

Denunciation is a solemn or formal declaration, accompanied 
with a menace; or the declaration of intended 
evil; proclamation of a threat. 

Condemnation is pronouncing to be utterly wrong; a sentence 
of disapprobation or blame. It often implies 
more than censure or blame, and seems to in- 
clude the idea of utter rejection, as to condemn 
heretical opinions, to condemn one's conduct. 
Literally, condemnation signifies declaring one 
guilty and dooming him to punishment. 
Though said of personal matters, condemnation 
has more reference to the thing than the per- 
son. That which is condemned is of a serious 
nature, and expresses a, strong displeasure or 
disapprobation. 



OPERATIONS OF THE INTELLECT. 
IDEA. 

Idea is literally that which is seen; hence, form, im- 

age, model of anything in the mind; that which 
is held or comprehended by the understanding 
or intellectual faculties. Ideas are the rude 
material upon which the thinking faculty ex- 
erts itself. The term is used in all cases for the 
mental representation, abstractedly from the 
agent that represents them. 

Perception is the act of perceiving or of receiving the 

knowledge of external objects by impressions of 
the senses, or that act or process of the mind 
which makes known an external object. Per- 
ception expresses either the act of perceiving or 
the impression produced by that act. The im- 
pression of an object that is presented to us is 



188 



Key to Expression. 



termed a perception. The perception which w? 
have of remote objects is sometimes so indis- 
tinct as to leave hardly any trace of the image 
on the mind. If we look at the moon, we have 
a perception of it. If it disappears from sight 
and the impression remains, we have an idea 
of it. 

Apprehension is the operation of the mind in contemplating 
ideas without comparing them with others, or 
referring them to external objects. Apprehen- 
sion signifies to take into the mind. It is the 
first effort of the thinking faculty, and belongs 
to children as well as to grown persons. It is 
performed by the help of the senses. One may 
be dull or quick of apprehension. It is applied 
only to reality. We cannot apprehend that of 
which we have no sensible impression. 

Conception is a combination of ideas by which any image 

is presented to the mind. When we see an ob- 
ject with our eyes open, we have a perception of 
it; when the same object is presented to the 
mind with the eyes shut, in idea only, or in 
memory, we have a conception of it. It is not 
necessary for the object to exist. It may be the 
offspring of the operation of the mind within 
itself. If an object differing in shape and color 
from anything which we have seen presents it- 
self to our minds, it is a conception. Concep- 
tion is the mind's own work, what it pictures 
to itself from the exercise of its own powers. It 
* is the fruit of the understanding and the imag 
ination. 



Comprehension is the power of the understanding to receive 
and contain ideas. When we conceive, we havo 
but one idea; when we understand, we have all 
the ideas which the subject is capable of pre- 
senting. We cannot comprehend without con- 
ceiving, but we may conceive that which we do 



Key to Expression. 



139 



not comprehend. We may conceive that a thing 
may exist without comprehending the nature of 
its existence. 

THOUGHT. 

Thought is either the act or operation of the mind when 

attending to a particular subject or thing, or it 
is the idea consequent on that operation. We 
say a man's thoughts are employed on govern- 
ment, on religion, on trade, or arts; or his 
thoughts are employed on his dress or his 
means of living. By this we mean that the 
mind is directed to that particular subject or 
object. Thoughts arise in the mind by means 
of association and combination, or recur in the 
mind by the power of memory. They are the 
materials with which the thinking faculty em- 
ploys itself. Thoughts are mean, low, grovel- 
ing; or good, noble, sublime, according to the 
nature of the mind in which they exist. 

Reflection literally means to bend the mind back on itself. 

In reflecting we compare, combine, and judge 
of those ideas which pass in the mind. We re- 
flect on them as they are applicable to our pres- 
ent condition. We reflect mostly on that which 
is past or present. A man reflects on his past 
follies and tries to profit by their experience. 
Reflection is employed for matters of specula- 
tion or moral improvement. 



Musing Signifies to dwell upon with the imagination. 

It is a mode of reflection. We muse on that 
which is past or present, but never on the fu- 
ture. One muses on events or circumstances 
which have been just passing, or on the happy 
events of his childhood. It is a temporary em- 
ployment of the mind on the ordinary concerns 
of life, as they happen to excite an interest for 
the time. 



140 



Key to Expression. 



Pondering is weighing intellectually. One ponders upon 

matters of grave importance, on any serious 
concern that affects one's destiny. 

Abstraction signifies separation from all worldly objects. 

It denotes deep thought on something not pres- 
ent. The abstracted man is lost in thinking. 
It is, for the most part, a temporary state. 
The mind performs the office of abstraction for 
itself. By the operation of abstraction the mind 
creates for itself a multitude of new ideas. 

Contemplation is the act of the mind in considering with at- 
tention. We may contemplate what is present 
or before our eyes, or on the future. What is 
contemplated to be done is thought of more in- 
distinctly than when it is meditated to be done. 
Many things are contemplated which are never 
seriously meditated. The heavens and all the 
works of nature are fit subjects for contem- 
plation. 

Meditation is close or continued thought. Meditation mod- 

ulates or attunes the thoughts as sounds are 
harmonized. It is a serious and permanent ac- 
tion. It is a duty which cannot be neglected 
without injury to one's spiritual improvement. 

Concentration is the act of centering the intellectual faculties 
on one subject or object. 



IMAGINATION. 

Imagination is forming images in the mind. Imagination is 
the will working on the material of memory. 
It selects the parts of different conceptions, or 
objects of memory, to form a whole more pleas- 
ing, more terrible, or more awful than has ever 
been presented in the ordinary course of na- 
ture. The imagination is supposed to act when 
the intellectual powers are in full play. It 
soars above all vulgar objects and carries us 



Key to Expression. 141 

from the world of matter into the world of 
spirit. The imagination is one's own. The 
poet's imagination depicts everything grand, ev- 
erything bold, and everything remote. 

Fancy is the power by which the mind forms image? 

or representations of things at pleasure. It is 
often used as synonymous with imagination, but 
imagination is rather the power of combining 
and modifying our conceptions. Fancy simply 
brings the object to the mind, or makes it ap- 
pear. It employs itself about things without 
regarding their nature. Fancy forms combina- 
tions, whether real or unreal, as chance may 
dictate. The fancy is employed on light or triv- 
ial objects which are present to the senses. A 
milliner or mantuamaker may employ her 
fancy on the decoration of a hat or cape. We 
say that we fancy that we see or hear anything, 
not that we imagine it. 

JUDGMENT. 

Judgment is the act or process of the mind in comparing 

its ideas, to find their agreement or disagree- 
ment, and to ascertain truth; or the process of 
examining facts and arguments, to ascertain 
propriety and justice. It is the faculty that en- 
ables- a person to distinguish right from wrong 
in general. Judgment is conclusive, and de- 
cides by positive inference. It is practical, and 
is directed toward that which is to be done, and 
extends its views to the future. It makes the 
relation and connection of things, and foresees 
their consequences and effects. It requires 
knowledge and actual experience. A man of 
good judgment is enabled to avoid those errors 
in conduct which one of weak judgment is al- 
ways falling into. It produces from deduction 
that which passes inwardly. 



142 



Key to Expression. 



Discrimination is the act of making or observing a difference. 
It is employed in the discovery of the discern 
ment between two or more objects. We dis- 
criminate between the characters of different 
men. Of discrimination we say that it is nice. 
It renders our ideas more accurate and serves 
to prevent our confounding objects. We use 
discrimination in determining the proportions 
and degrees of qualities in persons and things. 

Comparison is the act of considering the relation between 
persons or things, with a view to discover their 
agreement or resemblance, or their disagree- 
ment or difference. It serves to ascertain the 
true relation of objects. Likeness in the qual- 
ity and difference in the degree are requisite for 
a comparison. Things are large or small, im- 
portant or unimportant, by comparison. 

Contrast signifies the placing of one thing opposite to 

another. Likeness in the degree and opposition 
in the quality are requisite for a contrast. 
Things are magnified or diminished by contrast. 

Distinguishing signifies to see two or more things in quick suc- 
cession so as to compare them; separating from 
others by a note of diversity. We distinguish 
things according to their outward marks. We 
distinguish in order that we may not confound 
things. It requires a keen eye to distinguish 
objects that bear a great resemblance to each 
other. We distinguish between practice and 
profession. 



Discernment is the power of the mind by which it distin- 
guishes one thing from another, as truth from 
falsehood, virtue from vice. A man of common 
discernment discerns characters which are not 
concealed by any particular. Of discernment 
we may say that it is clear; it serves to remove 
all obscurity and confusion. When we wish to 



Key to Expression. 



14.'3 



estimate the real qualities of either persons or 
things, we exercise discernment. 

Penetration is mentally entering into anything abstruse, as 

a penetration into the abstruse difficulties of 
algebra. It is the power of seeing quickly, and 
seeing in spite of all that intercepts the sight 
and keeps the object out of view. Of penetra- 
tion we say that it is acute. It pierces every 
veil which falsehood draws before truth and 
prevents our being deceived. When it is re- 
quired to lay open that which art or cunning 
has concealed, we use penetration. 

Discretion is that discernment which enables a person to 

judge critically of what is correct and proper, 
united with caution. It is intuitive. It dis- 
cerns or perceives what is in all probability 
right. It sometimes only guards against error 
or direct mistakes. It chooses what is nearest 
to the truth. A general uses his discretion in 
the choice of officers for different posts. Those 
who have the management or conduct of others 
require discretion. It is applied to persons 
rather than to things. It looks to the present. 

Prudence is a mode of discretion. It looks only to the 

good or evil which may result from a thing. 
It calculates on the future. Those who have 
the management of their own concerns require 
prudence. For want of prudence the merchant 
may involve himself in ruin. Prudence is ap- 
plied to both persons and things. 



REASON. 

Reason signifies the thing thought, estimated, or val- 

ued in the mind. It respects the movements 
and operations of the mind; to argue, to infer 
conclusions from premises, or to deduce new or 
unknown propositions from previous proposi- 
tions which are known to be evident. Men may 



1 u 



Kiev to Expression. 



Logi. 



Abstract, 



Concrete, 



reason within themselves. They may reason 
before a court or Legislature. Whatever opin 
ions men may hold, they ought to be able to as- 
sign a substantial reason for them. 

may be considered the science or art of exact 
reasoning. It investigates the principles on 
which argumentation is conducted, and fur- 
nishes rules to secure the mind from error in 
its deductions. Logic includes the art of think- 
ing as well as the art of reasoning. 

to draw from; expressing a particular property 
of an object, viewed apart from the other prop- 
erties which constitute it; considered apart 
from any application to a particular object; ex- 
isting in the mind only, as abstract truth, ab- 
stract numbers. 

to grow together; standing for an object as it 
exists in nature, invested with all its qualities, 
as distinguished from standing for an attribute 
of an object. 



Analysis, to resolve into its elements; the tracing of 

things to their source, and the resolving of 
knowledge into its original elements; a reso- 
lution of anything, whether an object of the 
senses or of the intellect, into its original ele- 
ments; to analyze a sentence; to analyze an ac- 
tion to ascertain its morality. 

Synthesis signifies a putting together; the combination of 

separate elements of thought into a whole, as 
of simple into complex conceptions, species into 
genera, individual propositions into systems. 

Induction, the art or process of reasoning from a part to a 

whole, from particulars to generals, or from the 
individual to the universal; also the result of 
inference so reached. In induction we observe 
a sufficient number of individual facts, and on 



Key to Expression. 



145 



the ground of analogy extend what is true of 
them to others of the same class, thus arriving 
at general principles or laws. It relates to ac- 
tual existences, as in physical sciences' or the 
concerns of life. By induction Franklin estab- 
lished the identity of lightning and electricity. 

Deduction, that which is deduced or drawn from premises 

by a process of reasoning. In deduction we be- 
gin with a. general truth, which is already 
proved or provisionally assumed, and seek to 
connect it with some particular case by means 
of a middle term, or class of objects, known to 
be equally connected with both. Thus we bring 
down the general into the particular, affirming 
of the latter the distinctive qualities of the 
former. By deduction Franklin inferred that 
dwellings might be protected by lightning rods. 
This is the syllogistic method. 

WARNING. 

Warning is a caution against danger or against faults 

or evil practices which incur danger. Warn- 
ing respects the personal interest or safety. It 
is necessary to warn those who seem deter- 
mined to persevere in a wicked course of the 
consequences of sin. 

Advice is an opinion recommended or offered. Advice 

respects the future. We advise a person as to 
his future conduct by giving him rules and in- 
structions. Advice serves to direct people in 
the choice of good. 



Admonition is a gentle reproof; counseling against a fault. 
It respects the moral conduct; It comprehends 
reasoning and remonstrance. We admonish a 
person against the commission of any offense. 
Admonition is given by those who are superior 
in age and station. The old admonish the 



146 



Key to Expression. 



young. Admonition should be given with mild- 
ness and gravity. 

Caution is prudence in regard to danger; wariness, con- 

sisting in a careful attention to the probable 
effects of a measure, and a judicious course of 
conduct to avoid evils and the arts of designing 
men. Like warning, caution respects personal 
safety. Caution is also used as advice. Cau- 
tions are given by those who are previously in 
possession of information. It is necessary to 
caution those who are going in a strange path 
against false steps. Warnings and cautions are 
given by things as well as persons. Unfortu- 
nate accidents of the careless serve as a caution 
to others to avoid a like error. 

Exhortation is the act of inciting to do that which is good 
or commendable. Exhortations are employed 
only in matters of duty or necessity. A supe- 
rior exhorts. His words carry authority with 
them and rouse to action. 

Remonstrance is a strong representation of reasons against a 
measure, either public or private. It rests 
mostly on the force of reason and representa- 
tion. The remonstrance may be made on mat- 
ters of propriety. We remonstrate in a tone of 
complaint. A party aggrieved presents a re- 
monstrance to the Legislature. 



PREDICTION. 

Prediction is a foretelling; a previous declaration of a fu- 

ture event. 

Premonition is a previous warning, notice, or information. 
Christ gave to his disciples premonitions of 
their sufferings. 

Foreboding is a foretelling or foreknowledge of future 

events. 



Key to Expression. 



147 



CURIOSITY. 

Curiosity is a strong desire to see something novel, or to 

discover something unknown, either by research 
or inquiry; a desire to gratify the senses with a 
sight of what is new or unusual, or to gratify 
the mind with new discoveries. Curiosity is di- 
rected to all objects that can gratify the incli- 
nation, taste, or understanding. It employs ev- 
ery means which falls into its way in order to 
procure gratification. It may be used in a good 
or bad sense. A traveler is curious who ex- 
amines everything for himself. The curious 
person interests himself in all works of nature 
and art. 

Inquisitiveness signifies a disposition to investigate thoroughly. 
It is directed only to such things as satisfy the- 
understanding. It is indulged in by means of 
verbal inquiry. The inquisitive person collects 
all his information from others. Children are 
usually inquisitive. 

Prying signifies the disposition to sift to the bottom. 

It is never used otherwise than in a bad sense. 
A prying temper is unceasing in its endeavors 
to get acquainted with the secrets of others. 
It belongs only to people of low characters. 
Those who are of a prying temper are insensi- 
ble to everything but the desire of unveiling 
what is hidden. 

GRANDEUR. 

Grandeur is, in a general sense, greatness; that quality 

or combination of qualities, in an object, which 
elevates or expands the mind and excites pleas- 
urable emotions in him who views or contem- 
plates it. It may be said either of works of art 
or of nature. It is sometimes applied to the 
mind. A scene is grand as it fills the imagina- 
tion with immensity. The pyramids of Egypt 
and the ocean are both grand objects. Grand 
objects are viewed with admiration. 



148 Key to Expression. 

Sublimity is an elevated feeling, consisting of a union of 

astonishment and awe, at the contemplation of 
great scenes and objects, or exalted excellence. 
It also means a loftiness of character, or a lofty 
style of expression. Sublimity designates th* 
idea of height. A scene is sublime as it ele- 
vates the imagination beyond the surrounding 
and less important objects. It is peculiarly ap- 
plicable to the works of nature. There is some- 
thing sublime in the sight of huge mountains 
and craggy cliffs of ice shaped into varous fan- 
tastic forms. A tempestuous ocean is a sub- 
lime object. Sublimity is applied both to the 
thoughts and to the expressions. 

BELIEF. 

Belief is a persuasion of the truth, or an assent of 

mind to the truth of a declaration, proposition, 
or alleged fact on the ground of evidence dis- 
tinct from personal knowledge, as the belief in 
the gospel, belief of a witness. Belief may also 
be founded on internal impressions, or argu- 
ments and reasons furnished by our own minds, 
as the belief of our senses. A train of reason- 
ing may result in a belief. Belief is opposed to 
knowledge and science. Belief is not always 
regulated by our reasoning faculties or the 
truth of things. We often believe, from pre- 
sumptive ignorance or passion, that things are 
true which are very false. Belief is simply an 
act of the understanding. There can be no faith 
or trust without it. 

Trust is reliance or resting of the mind on the integ- 

rity, veracity, justice, friendship, or other sound 
principle of another person. There are no dis- 
appointments more severe than those which we 
feel on finding that we have trusted to men of 
base principles. Trust is credit given without 
examination, as to take opinions on trust. 



Key to Expression. 



149 



Faith, 



like trust, is an active, moving principle of the 
mind, which impels to action. Faith operates 
on the outward conduct. Enthusiasts mistake 
passion for faith. True faith must be founded 
on right belief. 



Doubt 



Suspicion 



Distrust 



DOUBT. 

is to be uncertain respecting the truth or fact. 
We * are in doubt for want of evidence. We 
doubt in matters of general interest, or abstruse 
as well as common objects. The doubt is fre- 
quently confined to the individual. We doubt 
whether we shall be able to succeed; we doubt 
the truth of a position. 

is the imagination of the existence of something 
without proof, or upon very slight evidence, or 
upon no evidence at all. Suspicion often pro- 
ceeds from the apprehension of evil. It is the 
offspring or companion of jealousy. The sus- 
picious man is fearful of the intentions of an- 
other, and will be cautious to have no dealings 
with him. 

is to doubt the truth, fidelity, firmness, or sin- 
cerity of another. We distrust a man when we 
question his veracity, etc. Distrust is said ei- 
ther of ourselves or others. A person may have 
distrust of one's own powers for the execution 
of a particular office. 



OPERATIONS OF THE WILL. 

ACTION. 

Action is the external signs of expression of the sen- 

timents of a moral agent; conduct; behavior; 
demeanor — that is, motion or movement, with 
respect to a rule or propriety. An act is a sin- 
gle exercise of power; action, a continued exer- 
cise of power. Action may consist of more acts 
than one. It is used in respect to the move- 



L50 



Key to Expression. 



ments of the body in general. In oratory ac- 
tion is gesture or gesticulation; the external 
deportment of the speaker, or the accommoda- 
tion of his attitude, voice, gesture, and coun- 
tenance to the subject or to the thoughts and 
feelings of the mind. 

RESOLUTION. 

Resolution is a fixed purpose or determination of mind, 

as a resolution to reform our lives, a resolution 
to undertake an expedition. A student resolves 
to conquer every difficulty in the way of ac- 
quirement. We require resolution not to yield 
to the first difficulties that offer. It is an act of 
the will. A sense of duty, honor, fidelity, and 
the will give birth to resolution. 

Determination is decision of a question in the mind; firm res 
olution; settled purpose; as, They have ac- 
quainted me with their determination. 

Perseverance is persistence in anything undertaken; contin- 
ued pursuit or prosecution of any business or 
enterprise begun. It is applied alike to good 
and evil. To persevere is to continue without 
wishing to change, or from a positive desire to 
attain an object. Perseverance marks a direct 
temper of mind. We persevere from reflection 
and the exercise of our pudgment. 



Persistency is continuing from a determination or will not 

to cease. Like perseverance, it marks a direct 
temper of the mind. It is in a good or evil 
sense, more generally in persisting in that 
which is evil or injurious to others, or unad- 
visable. A child persists in making a request 
until he has obtained the object of his desire. 
Persisting is always coupled with a mode of ac- 
tion. 



Key to Expression. 



151 



Tenacity is the quality of holding fast; unwilling to quit, 

resign, or let go, as a man's tenaciousness of his 
rights or opinions. We may be tenacious of 
that which is good, as when a man is tenacious 
of whatever may affect his home. It most com- 
monly happens that people are most tenacious 
of being thought to possess that in which they 
are most deficient. 

Pertinacity is firm or unyielding adherence to any opinion, 

purpose, or design. It often happens that peo 
pie are most pertinacious in maintaining that 
which is most absurd. 

Obstinacy is a fixedness that will not yield to persuasion, 

argument, or other means. It may not always 
convey the idea of unreasonable or unjustifia- 
ble firmness, as when we say soldiers fight with 
obstinacy. But often, and perhaps usually, the 
word denotes a fixedness of resolution which is 
not to be vindicated under the circumstances. 
Obstinacy is a habit of the mind. 

Stubbornness is perverse and unreasonable obstinacy. It is 
mostly inherent in a person's nature. A stub- 
born disposition betrays itself mostly in those 
who are bound to the will of another. It lies 
altogether in the perversion of the will. 

Headstrcngness is violent and ungovernable obstinacy. A 
headstrong temper is commonly associated with 
violence and impetuosity of character. It may 
be said of any who are full of conceit and bent 
on following it. 



Resistance is not yielding to force or external impression. 

Resistance is passive, as that of a fixed body 
which interrupts the passage of a moving body; 
or active, as in the exertion to stop, repel, or de- 
feat progress or design. 



152 

Patience 



Obedience 



Defiance 



Challenge 



Threatening 



Command 



Demand 



Key to Expression. 

is a calm temper which hears evils without 
murmuring or discontent. It consists in the 
abstaining from all complaint or indications of 
what one suffers. It may spring from a consti- 
tutional fortitude, from an heroic pride, or from 
a sense of duty. It is applied to things in gen- 
eral, but especially to what is painful. 

is compliance with a command, prohibition, or 
known law and rule of duty prescribed; a course 
of conduct conformable to some specific rule or 
the express will of another. Obedience is 
founded on principle and cannot be figured. W2 
are obedient from a sense of right. The under- 
standing and the heart produce it. We show 
our obedience to the law by avoiding a breach 
of it. Obedience is always used in a good sense. 

is a contempt of opposition or danger; a darins 
or resistance that implies the contempt of an 
adversary or any opposing power. Men often 
transgress the law and act in defiance of au- 
thority. 

has more provocation than resistance in it. He 
who challenges provokes or calls on another 
to do something. To challenge is a formal act 
performed by words, as to challenge another to 
fight or to engage in any contest. 

is the act of menacing; a denunciation of evil, 
or declaration of a purpose to inflict evil on a 
person or country, usually for sins and offenses. 
We are threatened by things as well as persons. 
The clouds may have a threatening aspect. 

signifies to give or appoint as a task. It is an 
exercise of power or authority. It is impera- 
tive, and must be obeyed. 

signifies to call for imperatively. We demand 
that which is owing and ought to be given. It 



Key to Expression. 



158 



is positive, and admits of no question. The 
creditor makes a demand on the debtor. A 
thing is commonly demanded in express words. 
A person demands admittance when it is not 
voluntary. 



COURAGE. 

Courage is that quality of mind which enables men to 

encounter danger and difficulties with firmness. 
Courage lies in the mind and depends on the 
reason. A man is courageous in proportion as 
he reasons and reflects. Courage seeks to avert 
the distant evils that may possibly arrive. It 
is most adapted for the general and all who 
give command. The courageous man advances 
to the scene of action which is before him. 
Courage is equally fitted to command or to 
obey. 

Confidence is reliance on one's own ability or fortune; be- 

lief in one's own competency. It is an habit- 
ual or permanent state of mind. A confident 
man is always ready to act, as he is sure of 
succeeding. It is more often expressed by ac- 
tions than by words. 

Audacity signifies literally the quality of daring. It has 

something of vehemence or defiance in it. It is 
sometimes used in a good sense, as a daring 
spirit, resolution, or confidence. Sometimes it 
is used in a bad sense; impudent, implying a 
contempt of law or moral restraint. An auda- 
cious man speaks with a lofty tone, without re- 
spect, and without reflection. His haughty de- 
meanor makes him forget what is due to his 
superior. 

Fearlessness is a negative state of mind; it is simply an ab- 
sence of fear. A man may be fearless where 
there is no apprehension of danger or no cause 
for apprehension. He may be fearless in a 
state of action. 



154 . Key to Expression. 

Intrepidity marks the total absence of fear. He is intrepid 

who has no fear where the bravest might trem- 
ble. It may be shown either in the bare con- 
templation of danger or in the actual encoun- 
tering of danger in opposing resistance to force. 

Boldness is a positive characteristic of the spirit. A 

person is bold only when he is conscious or ap- 
prehensive of danger and prepared to encounter 
it. He is bold only in action, or when in a 
frame of mind for action. A man may be bold 
in the use of words only. 

Daring signifies to have courage to do. He who is dar- 

ing provokes resistance and courts danger. A 
man is daring in action only. It is an informal 
act performed, either by words or deeds. Like 
boldness, daring is sometimes used in a bad 
sense. 

Bravery signifies to act the part of a fearless man. It 

lies in the blood and depends on the physical 
temperament. It is a species of instinct. A 
man is brave in proportion as he is without 
thought. It is of avail only in the hour of at- 
tack. Bravery is most fitted for the soldiers 
and all who receive orders. It has most rela- 
tion to danger. 

Valor is strength of mind in regard to danger. It is 

of a higher quality than bravery. Valor directs 
and executes. It is most fitted for the leader 
and framer of enterprises. It has a particular 
reference to action. The valiant man seeks for 
occasions to act. 

Gallantry signifies splendid qualities. Gallantry is ex- 

traordinary bravery, or bravery on extraordi- 
nary occasions. It is peculiar to individuals or 
particular bodies. The gallant man volunteers 
his services in cases of peculiar danger. Gal- 
lantry is also splendor of appearance. 



Key to Expression. 



155 



Heroism is the qualities of bravery, courage, and in- 

trepidity, particularly in war. 



IRRESOLUTION. 

Irresolution is want of resolution; want of decision in pur- 

pose; a fluctuation of mind, as in doubt, or be- 
tween hope and fear. 

Indecision is want of decision; want of settled purpose, 

or of firmness in determination of the will; a 
wavering of the mind. 

Vacillation is fluctuation in mind or opinion; a wavering. 

Hesitation is a pausing or delay in forming an opinion or 

commencing action. We hesitate because of an 
undecided state of mind. 

Fickleness is inconstancy or instability; unsteadiness in 

opinion or purpose. Fickleness respects the in- 
clinations and attachments. A fickle person 
likes many things successively or at the same 
time. It arises from a lightness of mind. 

Relinquishment is the act of leaving or quitting; a forsaking; 
the renouncing a claim to. It is an act of pru- 
dence or imprudence. Men often inadvertently 
relinquish the fairest prospects in order to fol- 
low some favorite scheme, which terminates in 
their ruin. 

Forsaking is leaving or deserting. It is an indifferent ac- 

tion, and implies simply the leaving something 
to which one has been attached. By forsaking 
the kindly feelings are hurt, and the social ties 
are broken. 

Abandoning is forsaking or deserting wholly. It is a vio- 
lation of the most sacred ties, and exposes the 
object to every misery. A bad mother aban- 
dons her offspring. To abandon may be an act 
of necessity or discretion, as a captain aban- 
dons his vessel when it is no longer safe to re- 



156 



Key to Expression. 



main in it. Abandoning also means yielding 
oneself without restraint. 

Renunciation is the act of renouncing; a disowning; rejec- 
tion; refusing to own or acknowledge as be- 
longing to, as to renounce a title to land or a 
claim to reward, to renounce all pretensions to 
applause, to renounce the world and all its 
cares. 

Resignation is applied either to outward actions or merely 
to inward movements. It seems to be passive. 
It is the leaning of the mind to circumstances. 
We resign that which we have. When applied 
to the state of a person's mind or the actions 
flowing from that state, it is always used in a 
good sense. A man resigns himself to the will 
of Providence or to the circumstances of his 
condition. He is said to be resigned when he 
discovers composure and tranquillity in the 
hour of affliction. 

Submission supposes a restraint of one's own will in order 

to bring it into accordance with that of another. 
It is relatively good. It is often a personal act 
immediately directed to the individual. We are 
submissive from a sense of necessity. It is a 
partial bending to another which is easily af- 
fected by our outward behavior. Its expression 
is a downcast look and a bent body. 



COWARDICE. 

Cowardice is want of courage to face danger; fear of ex- 

posing one's person to danger. 

Diffidence signifies having no faith. It is said generally 

of ourselves. It is culpable distrust. It alto- 
gether unmans a person and disqualifies him 
for his duty. A diffident man cannot turn his 
talents to his own use. 



Key to Expression. 



157 



Timidity 



Fear 



Alarm 



Terror 



is applied only physically and personally. It 
is mostly used in a moral sense. It is charac- 
teristic of a timid person to be afraid- of of- 
fending or meeting with something painful 
from others. A person with such a disposition 
is prevented from following the dictates of his 
own mind. Timidity in one person may be a 
good trait of character, while in another it is a 
deep reproach. 

is a painful apprehension of some impending 
evil; to consider or expect with emotions of 
alarm or solicitude. What is probable may be 
feared. We fear the approach of an enemy or 
of a storm. We may fear the consequences of 
a person's resentment. 

springs from any sudden signal that announces 
the approach of danger. Alarm makes us run 
to our defense. We are alarmed for what we 
comprehend. 

is extreme fear; violent dread; fear that agi- 
tates the body and the mind. Terror springs 
from any event or phenomenon that may serve 
as a prognostic of some catastrophe. Horrid 
spectacles terrify us. We may be terrified by 
what we imagine. Terror disarms us. 



158 Key to Expression. 

EXAMPLES OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE 
EMOTIONS. 

You must wake and call me early, call me early, mother, 

dear ; 
To-morrow will be the happiest time of all the glad New 

Year — 
Of all the glad New Year, mother, the maddest, merriest 

day; 
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother; I'm to be Queen 

o' the May. — Tennyson. 

There's no faith in earth ! 

The very men with whom I walked through life, 

Xay, till within this hour, in all the bonds 

Of courtesy and high companionship, 

They all deserted me; Metellus, Scipio, 

iEmiJms, Cato, even my kinsman, Caesar — 

All the chief names and senators of Eome, 

This day, as if the heavens had stamp'd me black, 

Turn'd on their heel, just at the point of fate, 

Left me a mockery, in the rabble's midst, 

And followed their plebeian consul, Cicero ! 

This was the day to which I look'd through life; 

And it has fail'd me — vanished from my grasp 

Like air. — Croly. 

Then let us pray that come it may — 

As come it will for a' that — 
That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth, 

May bear the gree, and a' that. 
For a' that, and a' that, 

It's coming yet, for a' that — 
That man to man, the warld o'er, 

Shall brothers be for a' that ! — Burns. 



Key to Expression. 159 



King Richard. What must the king do now? 

Must he submit? 
The king shall do it: must he be deposed? 
The king shall be contented : must he lose 
The name of king ? In God's name, let it go : 
I'll give my jewels for a set of beads, 
My gorgeous palace for a hermitage, 
My gay apparel for an alms-man's gown, 
My figured goblets for a dish of wood, 
My sceptre for a palmer's walking-staff, 
My subjects for a pair of carved saints, 
And my large kingdom for a little grave — 
A little, little grave, an obscure grave — 
Or I'll be buried in the king's highway, 
Some way of common trade, where subjects' feet 
May hourly trample on their sovereign's head; 
For on my heart they tread, now whilst I live ; 
And, buried once, why not upon my head ? 

— King Richard II. 

Lochiel. Go preach to the coward, thou death-telling seer ! 
Or, if gory Culloden so dreadful appear, 
Draw, dotard, around thy all wavering sight, 
This mantle, to cover the phantoms of fright ! 

— Thomas Campbell. 

Oh! but to breathe the breath of cowslip and primrose 

sweet, 
With the sky above my head, and the grass beneath my 

feet; 
For only one short hour to feel as I used to feel, 
Before I knew the woes of want, and the walk that costs a 

meal — Hood. 



160 Key to Expression. 

" my son Absalom, my son Absalom, 
Would God, I had died for thee, 
Absalom, my son, my son!" — Bible. 

Oh, but for one short hour ! — a respite, however brief ! 

No blessed leisure for love or hope, but only time for grief ! 

A little weeping would ease my heart — but in their briny 

bed 
My tears must stop, for every drop hinders needle and 

thread. — Hood. 

But the father said to his servants, " Bring forth the best 
robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and 
shoes on his feet : and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill 
it ; and let us eat, and be merry : for this my son was dead, 
and is alive again; he was lost, and is found." — Bible. 

ISTow, God be praised, the day is ours ! Mayenne hath 

turned -his rein, 
D'Aumale hath cried for quarter — the Flemish Count is 

slain : 
Their ranks are breaking like thin clouds before a Biscay 

gale ; 
The field is heaped with bleeding steeds, and flags and 

cloven mail. — 31 a caul ay. 

I have liv'd long enough: my May of life 
Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf; 
And that which should accompany old age, 
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, 
I must not look to have ; but, in their stead, 
Curses, not loud, but deep, mouth-honour, breath, 
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. 

— Macbeth. 



Key to Expression. 161 

No more, no more 

The world ly shore 
Upbraids me with its loud uproar ! 

With dreamful eyes, \ 

My spirit lies 
Under the walls of Paradise ! 

— T. B. Read. 

Was wonder a wise kind of bee 
That has learned how to laugh ? 
Could it laugh in one's ear, then fly 
And laugh again yonder? 

— Jean Ingelow. 

Behold the condemned. Claudius, and Cynthia whom he 
lately took for his wife. They are condemned for the great 
folly of Claudius, that the Eoman people may know that 
Commodus reigns supreme ; the crime for which they are to 
die is a great one. Claudius has publicly proclaimed that 
he is a better archer than I, Commodus, am. I am the em- 
peror and the incomparable archer of Eome. Whoever dis- 
putes it dies, and his wife with him. It is decreed. 

— Thompson. 

Great and high 
The world knows, only two ; that's Home and I ; 
My roof receives me not ; 'tis air I tread, 
And at each step I feel my advanced head 
Knock out a star in heaven. — Ben Jonson. 

" 0, liasve thee, haste ! " the lady cries, 
" Though tempests round us gather ; 
I'll meet the raging of the skies, 
But not an angry father. — Campbell. 



1(32 Key to Expression. 

But Dotiglas round him drew his cloak, 
Folded his arms, and thus he spoke : 
" My manors, halls, and bowers shall still 
Be open, at my sovereign's will, 
To each one whom he lists, howe'er 
Unmeet to be the owner's peer. 
My castles are my king's alone, 
From turret to foundation stone, 
The hand of Douglas is his own; 
And never shall in friendly grasp 
The hand of such as Marmion clasp ! " 

— Sir Walter Scott. 

Haste me to know it, that I with wings as swift 

As meditation, or thoughts of love, 

May sweep to my revenge. —Hamlet. 

I am giddy : expectation whirls me round. 

The imaginary relish is so sweet 

That it enchants my sense : what will it be, 

When that the watery palate taste indeed 

Love's thrice reputed nectar? Death, I fear me; 

Swooning destruction; or some joy too fine, 

Too subtle potent, tuned too sharp in sweetness, 

For the capacity of my ruder powers ; 

I fear it much; and I do fear, besides, 

That I shall lose distinction in my joys ; 

As doth a battle, when they charge on heaps 

The enemy flying. 

For though from out our bourn of Time and Place 

The flood may bear me far, 
I hope to see my Pilot, face to face, 

When I have crossed the bar. — Tennyson. 



Key to Expression. 163 

0, Juliet ! if the measure of thy joy 
Be heaped like mine, and that thy skill be more 
To blazen it, then sweeten with thy breath 
This neighbor air, and let rich music's tongue 
Unfold the imagined happiness, that both 
Receive in either by this dear encounter. 

— Romeo and Juliet. 

Toiling, rejoicing, sorrowing, 

Onward through life he goes : 
Each morning sees some task begin, 

Each evening sees it close; 
Something attempted, something done, 

Has earned a night's repose. — Longfellow. 

The diplomat flashed 'crost the scene, 

And said, obsequiously : " I salute 
Earth's greatest soldier, Prince Eugene ! " 
" Too soon, my lord ! His grace comes late," 

The prince replied, and turned away. 

— H. Butterwortli. 

" Farewell ! " said he. " Minnehaha, 
Farewell. 0, my Laughing Water, 
All my heart is buried with you, 
All my thoughts go onward with you; 
Come not back again to suffer, 
Where the famine and the fever 
Wear the heart and waste the body ; 
Soon my task will be completed, 
Soon your footsteps I shall follow 
To the Islands of the Blessed, 
To the Kingdom of Ponemah, 
To the Land of the Hereafter ! " — Longfellow. 



L64 Key to Expression. 

I have of late — but wherefore I know not — lost 
All my mirth, foregone all customs of exercises: 
And indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition, 
That this goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile 
Promontory: this most excellent canopy, the air, 
Look you this brave, o'erhanging firmament, this 
Majestical roof, fretted with golden fire — why it appears 
No other thing to me than a foul and pestilent 
Congregation of vapors. — Hamlet. 

Build me straight, worthy master ! 

Staunch and strong, a goodly vessel, 
That shall laugh at all disaster, 

And with wave and whirlwind wrestle. 

— Longfellow. 

I'll go, and in the anguish of my heart, 
Weep o'er my child — if he must die ; my life 
Is wrapt up in his, and shall not long survive : 
"Tis for his sake that I have suffered life, 
Groaned in captivity, and outlived Hector. 
Yes, my Astyanax ! we will go together ; 
Together — to the realms of night — we'll go. 

" Come back ! come back ! " he cries with grief, 
"Across the stormy water, 
And I'll forgive your Highland chief, 

My daughter, my daughter ! " — Campbell. 

'Tis no-w the very witching time of night, 

When churchyards yawn, and Hell itself breathes out 

Contagion to this world : now could I drink hot blood, 

And do such bitter business as the day 

Would quake to look upon. — Hamlet. 



Key to Expression. 165 

Now, my co-mates and brothers in exile, 

Hath not old custom made this life more sweet 

Than that of painted pom]) ? Are not these woods 

More free from peril than the envious court ? 

Sweet are the uses of adversity. 

That, like a toad, ugly and venomous, 

Wears yet a precious jewel in his head : 

And this our life, exempt from public haunts, 

Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks, 

Sermons in stones, and good in everything. 

— As You Like It. 

O'er me, like a regal tent, 

Cloudy-ribbed, the sunset bent, 

Purple-curtained, fringed with gold, 

Looped in many a wind-swung fold; 

While for music came the play 

Of the pied frogs' orchestra; 

And, to light the noisy choir, 

Lit the fly his lamp of fire. 

I was monarch: pomp and joy 

Waited on the barefoot boy. — Whittier. 

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary ; 
It rains, and the wind is never weary ; 
My thoughts still cling to the moldering past, 
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast, 
And the days are dark and dreary. 

Be still, sad heart, and cease repining; 

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining ; 

Thy fate is the common fate of all ; 

Into each life some rain must fall : 

Some days must be dark and dreary. — Longfellow. 



106 Key to Expression. 

0, for a sight of water, the shadowed slope of a hill, 
Clouds that hang on the summit, a wind that never is still ! 
But the level land went stretching away to meet the sky, 
Never a rise from north to south to rest the weary eye. 
From each to west no river to shine out under the moon, 
Nothing to make a shadow in the yellow afternoon; 
Only the breathless sunshine, as I looked out all forlorn, 
Only the rustle, rustle, as I walked among the corn. 

— C. F. Woohon. 

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, 
There is a rapture on the lonely shore, 

There is society where none intrudes 
By the deep sea, and music in its roar. 

I love not man the less, but Nature more, 
From these our interviews, in which I steal 

From all that may be, or have been before, 
To mingle with the universe and feel 
What I can ne'er express, yet cannot all conceal. 

— Byron. 

And from the crowd beneath, in accents wild, 

A mother screams, " God ! my child ! my child ! " 

— George M. Baker. 

0, that his too, too solid flesh would melt, 
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew ! 
Or, that the Everlasting had not fixed 
Flis cannon 'gainst self-slaughter ! God ! God ! 
How weary, stale, fiat, and unprofitable, 
Seem to me all the uses of this world : 
Fie on't ! fie on't ! 'tis an unweeded garden 
That grows to seed : things rank and gross in nature possess 
it merely. — Hamlet. 



Key to Expression. 107 

On, Atair! On, Rigel . ! What, Antares! dost thou lin- 
ger now ? 0, ho ! good horse Aldebaran ! I hear them 
singing in the tents. I hear the children singing and the 
women singing of the stars, of Atair, Antares, Rigel, Aide- 
baran, Victory! and the song will never end. Well done! 
Home — to-morrow under the black tent — home ! On, An- 
tares ! the tribe is waiting for us, and the master is wait- 
ing ! Tis done! 'Tis done! Ha, ha! The hand that 
smote ns is in the dust. Ha, ha, steady ! steady ! The 
work is done — Soho ! Soho ! — Lew Wallace. 

With woeful measures, wan Despair 
Low sullen sounds his grief beguiled ; 

A solemn, strange, and mingled air; 
'Twas sad, by fits; by starts, 'twas wild. 

— Collins. 

Cassius. Come, Antony, and young Octavius, come ! 
Revenge yourselves alone on Cassius, 
For Cassius is aweary of the world : 
Hated by one he loves ; braved by his brother ; 
Checked like a bondman; all his faults observed, 
Set in a notebook, learned, and conned by rote, 
To cast into my teeth. 0, I could weep 
My spirit from mine eyes ! 

There is my dagger, 
And here my naked breast ; within, a heart, 
Dearer than Plutus' mine, richer than gold : 
If that thou be'st a Roman, take it forth; 
I, that denied thee gold, will give my heart; 
Strike as thou didst at Caesar; for, I know, 
When thou didst hate him worst, thou lovedst him better 
Than ever thou lovedst Cassius. — Julius Caesar, 



168 Key to Expression. 

The fault will be in the music, cousin, if you are not 
wooed in good time; if the prince be too important, tell 
him there is measure in everything, and so dance out the 
answer. For hear me, Hero: wooing, wedding, and re- 
peating, is a Scotch jig, a measure and a cinque-pace, the 
first suit is hot and hasty, like a Scotch jig, and full as 
fantastical : the wedding, mannerly, modest, as a measure, 
full of state and ancientry; and then comes repentance, 
and with his bad legs, falls into the cinque-pace faster and 
faster, till he sinks into his grave. 

— Much Ado About Nothing. 

I long for shadowy founts, when the birds 
Twitter and chirp at noon from every tree; 
I long for blossomed leaves and lowing herds ; 
And nature's voices say in mystic words : 
" The green fields wait for thee." 

When all the sky is draped in black, 
And beaten by tempestuous gales, 

Thy shuddering barque seems all a wrack, 
Then trim again thy tattered sails ; 

To grim despair be not a prey : 

"Remember, this will pass away. 

And then I think of one who in her youthful beauty died, 
The fair, meek blossom that grew up and faded by my side : 
In the cold, moist earth we laid her, when the forests cast 

the leaf, 
And we wept that one so lovely should have a life so brief ; 
Yet not unmeet it was that one, like that young friend of 

ours, 
So gentle and so beautiful, should perish with the flowers. 

— William Cullen Bryant. 



Key to Expression. i 09 

This is the very top, 
The height, the crest, or crest unto the crest — 
Of murderer's arms ; this is .the bloodiest shame, 
The wildest savagery, the vilest stroke, 
That ever wall-eyed wrath, or staring rage 
Presented to the tears of soft remorse. 

— Shakespeare. 

Gone to be married: gone to swear peace! 

False blood to false blood joined ! Gone to be friends ! 

Shall Lewis have Blanch ? and Blanch these provinces ? 

It is not so ; thou hast misspoken, misheard. 

Be well advised, tell o'er thy tale again : 

It cannot be ! thou dost but say 'tis so ; 

Then speak again ; not all thy former tale, 

But this, one word — whether thy tale be true. 

— King John. 

Weary, so weary ; weary of tears ; 
Weary of heartaches, and weary of fears ; 
Weary of moaning and weary of pain; 
Weary, so weary of hoping in vain. 
Weary, so weary — but sometime I'll rest, 
Dreamlessly sleeping, hands crossed on my breast ; 
No more to sorrow, no more to weep, 
Only to lie down and quietly sleep. 

— Elizabeth Akers Allen. 

" Now, by the Heavens above me, sirs, 
Better we all were dead, 
Than a single knight among ye all 
Should ride where Lara led ! " 

—G. H. Boker. 



170 Key to Expression. 

We walk not with the jeweled great, 

Where love's dear name is sold ; 
Yet have we wealth we would not give 

For all their world of gold. 
We revel not in corn and wine, 

Yet have we from above 
Manna divine, and we'll not pine : 

Do we not live and love ? 

There's sorrow for the toiling poor, 

On misery's bosom nursed; 
Kich robes for ragged souls, and crowns 

For branded brows Cain cursed. 
But cherubim with clasping wings, 

Ever, about us be, 
And happiest of God's happy things, 

There's love for you and me. 

But thou, Hope ! with eyes so fair, 

What was thy delighted measure ? 

Still it whispered promised pleasure, 
And bade the lovely scenes at distance hail : 

Still would her touch the strain prolong ; 
And from the rocks, the woods, the vale, 

She called on Echo still through all her song, 
And where her sweetest theme she chose, 
A soft, responsive voice was heard at every close : 

And Hope, enchanted, smiled, and waved her golden hair. 

— Collins. 

Duke. That thou shalt see the difference of our spirits, 
I pardon thee thy life before thou ask it. 

— Merchant of Venice. \. 



Key to Expression. lVi 

All's for the best ! be sanguine and cheerful, 

Trouble and sorrow are friends in disguise ; 
Nothing but Folly goes faithless and fearful, 

Courage forever is happy and wise : 
All's for the best — if a man would but know it, 

Providence wishes us all to be blest ; 
This is no dream of the pundit or poet, 

Heaven is gracious, and — all's for the best ! 

Would I had never trod this English earth, 

Or felt the flatteries that grow upon it ! 

Ye've angels' faces, but heaven knows your hearts, 

What shall become of me now ? wretched body ! 

I am the most unhappy woman living. 

Alas ! poor wenches, where are now your fortunes ? 

Shipwrecked upon a kingdom, where no pity, 

~No friend, no hope, no kindred weep for me ! 

Almost no grave allowed me. — Henry VIII. 

There is a voice I shall hear no more; 
There are tones whose music for me is o'er, 
Sweet as the odors of spring were they — 
Precious and rich — but they died away; 
They came like peace to my heart and ear — 
Never again will they murmur here ; 
They have gone like the blush of a summer morn, 
Like a crimson cloud, through the sunset borne. 

Me Miserable ! which way shall I fly 

Infinite wrath, and infinite despair? 

Which way I fly is hell, myself am hell — 

And in the lowest depth, a lower deep, 

Still threatening to devour me, opens wide, 

To which the hell I suffer seems a heaven. — Milton. 



172 Key to Expression. 

That I did love thee, Caesar, 0, 'tis true: 
If then thy spirit look upon us now, 
Shall it not grieve thee, dearer than thy death, 
To see thy Antony making his peace, 
Shaking the bloody fingers of thy foes, 
Most noble ! in the presence of thy corse ? 
Had I as many eyes as thou hast wounds, 
Weeping as fast as they stream forth thy blood, 
It would become me better than to close 
In terms of friendship with thine eneinies. 
Pardon me, Julius ! " 

Here wast thou bay'd, brave heart, 
Here didst thou fall ; and here thy hunters stand, 
Sign'd in thy spoil, and crimson'd in thy lethe. . 
world ! thou wast the forest to this hart ; 
And this, indeed, world ! the heart of thee. — 
How like a deer, stricken by many princes, 
Dost thou lie here ! — Julius Ccesar. 

Overcome with wonder, and oppressed with joy: 
This vast profusion of extreme delight, 
Rising at once, and bursting from despair, 
Defies the aid of words, and mocks description. 

But must I die here — in my own trap caught ? 

Die — die ? — and then ! mercy ! grant me time — 

Thou who canst save — grant me a little time, 

And I'll redeem the past- —undo the evil 

That I have done — make thousands happy with 

This hoarded treasure — do thy will on earth 

As it is done in heaven — grant me but time ! — 

Nor God nor man will heed my shrieks ! All's lost ! 

— Osborne. 



Key to Expression. 173 

Waken, lords and ladies gay, 
To the greenwood haste away; 
We can show you where he lies, 
Fleet of foot, and tall of size ; 
We can show the marks he made, 
When 'gainst the oak his antlers f ray'd ; 
You shall see him brought to bay, 
Waken, lords and ladies gay. 

Louder, louder chant the lay, 

Waken, lords and ladies gay, 

Tell them youth, and mirth, and glee, 

Bun a course as well as we; 

Time, stern huntsman ! who can baulk, 

Staunch as hound, and fleet as hawk; 

Think of this, and rise with day, 

Gentle lords and ladies gay. — Scott. 

0, bid the morning stars combine 

To match the chorus clear and fine, 

That rippled lightly down the line — 

A cadence of celestial rhyme, 

The language of that cloudless clime, 

To which their shining hands kept time. 

—T. B. Read. 

I am dying, Egypt, dying, 

Ebbs the crimson life-tide fast, 
And the dark Plutonian shadows 

Gather on the evening' blast ; 
Let thine arm, Queen, enfold me, 

Hush thy sobs and bow thine ear, 
Listen to the great heart secrets 

Thou, and thou alone, must hear. 

—W. H. Lytle. 



174 Key to Expression. 

Why not reform? that's easily said; 

But Fve gone through such wretched treatment, 
Sometimes forgetting the taste of bread, 

And scarce remembering what meat meant, 
That my poor stomach's past reform; 

And there are times when mad with thinking, 
I'd sell out heaven for something warm 

To prop a horrible inward sinking. 

— J. G. Trowbridge. 

My fate cries out, 
And makes each petty artery in this body 
As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve — 
Still am I called — unhand me, gentlemen — 
I say away- — go on, III follow thee. — Hamlet. 

Is there a way to forget to think ? 

At your age, sir, home, fortune, friends, 
A dear girl's love — but I took to drink — 

The same old story : you know how it ends. 
If you could have seen these classic features — 

You needn't laugh, sir, they were not then 
Such a burning libel on God's creatures : 

I was one of your handsome men. 

— J. G. Trowbridge. 

Backward, turn backward, Time, in your flight, 
Make me a child again just for to-night ! 
Mother, come back from the echoless shore, 
Take me again to your heart as of yore; 
Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care, 
Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair ; 
Over my slumbers your loving watch keep — 
Rock me to sleep, mother — rock me to sleep ! 

— Elizabeth Ahers Allen. 



Key to Expression. IV 5 

Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue, 
Mother, mother, my heart calls for you ! 
Many a summer the grass has grown green, 
Blossomed, and faded our faces between, 
Yet with strong yearnings and passionate pain 
Long I to-night for your presence again. 
Come from the silence so long and so deep — , 
Rock me to sleep, mother — rock me to sleep. 

— Elizabeth Ahers Allen. 

Let's dry our eyes : and thus far hear me, Cromwell ; 
And when I am forgotten, as I shall be, 
And sleep in dull, cold marble, where no mention 
Of me more must be heard of, say, I taught thee, 
Say Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory, 
And sounded all the depths and shoals of honor, 
Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in ; 
A sure and safe one, though thy master missed it. 

— Henry VIII. 

I am not mad; this hair I tear is mine; 

My name is Constance; I was Geoffrey's wife; 

Young Arthur is my son — and he is lost. 

I am not mad ; I would to heaven I were ; 

For then 'tis like I should forget myself. 

0, if I could, Avhat grief I should forget ! 

Preach some philosphy to make me mad, 

That I may be delivered of these woes, 

And teach me to kill or hang myself ; 

If I were mad, I should forget my son, 

Or madly think a bale of rags were he. 

I am not mad; too well I feel 

The diffused plague of each calamity. — King John. 



17G Key to Expression. 

I am amazed at the attack which the noble Duke has 
made on me. Yes, my lords, I am amazed at his Grace's 
speech. The noble Duke cannot look before him, behind 
him, or on either side of him, without seeing some noble 
peer who owes his seat in this House to his successful ex- 
ertions in the profession to which I belong. Does he not 
feel that it is as honorable to owe it to these, as to being 
the accident of an accident? To all these noble lords the 
language of the noble Duke is as applicable and as insulting 
as it is to myself. But I do not fear to meet it single and 
alone. 

Xo one venerates the Peerage more than I do; but, my 
lords, I must say that the Peerage solicited me — not I the 
Peerage. Nay, more — I can say, and will say, that, as a 
peer of Parliament, as Speaker of this right honorable 
House, as Keeper of the Great Seal, as guardian of his 
Majesty's conscience, as Lord High Chancellor of England 
— nay, even in that character alone in which the noble 
Duke would think it an affront to be considered, but which 
character none can deny me — as a man — I am, at this 
moment, as respectable — I beg leave to add, I am as -much 
respected — as the proudest peer I now look down upon ! 

— Lord Thurloiv. 

Society, friendship, and love, 

Divinely bestowed upon man, 
0, had I the wings of a dove, 

How soon would I taste you again ! 

— Alexander Selkirk. 

0, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, 
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers ! 
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man 
That ever lived in the tide of times. — Julius Ccesar. 



Key to Expression. 177 

Thy right hand, Lord, is become glorious in power: 
thy right hand, Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy, 
and in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast over- 
thrown them that rose up against thee; thou sendest forth 
thy wrath which consumed them as stubble, and with the 
blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together : the 
floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were con- 
gealed in the heart of the sea. — Bible. 

Go back to her, 

And say that Hagar has a heart as proud, 

If not so cold as hers ; and though it breaks, 

It breaks without the sound of sobs, without 

The balm of tears to ease its pain. It breaks — 

It breaks, my lord, like iron, hard, but clean ; 

And breaking asks no pity. — E. P. Nicholson. 

See yonder poor o'er-labored wight, 

So abject, mean, and vile, 
Who begs a brother of the earth 

To give him leave to toil ; 
And see his lordly fellow-worm 

The poor petition spurn, 
Unmindful though a weeping wife 

And helpless offspring mourn. 

death ! the poor man's dearest friend, 

The kindest and the best ! 
Welcome the hour my aged limbs 

x4re laid with thee at rest ! 
The great, the wealthy, fear thy blow, 

From pomp and pleasure torn, 
But, ! a blest relief to those 

That weary-laden mourn, — Burns. 



ITS Key to Expression. 

" Prophet ! " said I, " tiling of evil ! — ■ 
Prophet still, if bird or devil ! 
By that heaven that bends above ns, 
By that God we both adore, 
Tell this soul, with sorrow laden, 
If within the distant Aidenn, 
It shall clasp a sainted maiden, 
Whom the angels name Lenore; 
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, 
Whom the angels name Lenore ! " 
Quoth the raven, " Nevermore ! " 

" Be that word onr sign of parting, 
Bird or fiend ! " I shrieked, upstarting — 

" Get thee back into the tempest 
And the night's Plutonian shore. 
Leave no black plume as a token 
Of that lie thy soul hath spoken ! 
Leave my loneliness unbroken ! — 
Quit the bust above my door ! 
Take thy beak from out my heart, 
And take thy form from off my door ! " 
Quoth the raven, " Nevermore ! " — E. A. Poe. 

Solitude ! where are the charms 
That sages have seen in thy face ? 

Better dwell in the midst of alarms, 
Than reign in this horrible place ! 

1 am out of humanity's reach, 

I must finish my journey alone; 
Never hear the sweet music of speech — 
I start at the sound of my own ! 

— Alexander Selkirk. 



Key to Expression. 17!) 

woe ! woeful, woeful, woeful day ! 

Most lamentable day ! most woeful day ! 

That ever, ever, I did yet behold ! 

day ! day ! day ! hateful day ! 

Never was seen so black a day as this: 

woeful day ! woeful day ! — Romeo and J 'diet. 

And ever against eating cares, 

Lap me in soft Lydian airs; 

In notes with many a winding bout 

Of linked sweetness long drawn out; 

With wanton head and giddy cunning, 

The melting voice through mazes running; 

Untwisted all the chains that tie 

The hidden soul of harmony. 

" Ha, ha ! " laughed the miser : " Fm safe at last, 

From this night so cold and drear, 
From the drenching rain and the driving blast, 

With my gold and treasures here. 
I am cold and wet with the icy rain, 

And my health is bad, 'tis true ; 
Yet if I should light that tire again, 

It should cost me a cent or two. 

" Let me see : let me see ! " said the miser then, 
" 'Tis some sixty years or more 
Since the happy hour when I began 
To heap up this glittering store ; 
And well have I sped with my anxious toil, 

As my crowded chest will show : 
I've more than would ransom a kingdom's spoil, 
Or an emperor could bestow." 



180 Key to Expression. 

We buried him darkly, at dead of night, 

The sod with our bayonets turning, 
By the struggling moonbeams' misty light, 

And the lantern dimly burning. 
Few and short were the prayers we said, 

And we spoke not a word of sorrow ; 
But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead, 

And we bitterly thought of the morrow. 

— Charles Wolfe. 

! the long and dreary winter ! 
the cold and cruel winter ! 
Ever thicker, thicker, thicker, 
Froze the ice on lake and river ; 
Ever deeper, deeper, deeper 
Fell the snow o'er all the landscape, 
Fell the covering snow, and drifted 
Through the forest round the village. 

— Longfellow. 

From the heads of kings I've torn the crown, 

From the heights of fame, I have hurled men down; 

I have blasted many an honored name; 

I have taken virtue and given shame; 

I have tempted the youth with a sip, a taste, 

Which has made his future a barren waste. 

— Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

And now farewell ! 'Tis hard to give thee up, 
With death so like a gentle slumber on thee, 
And thy dark sin ! ! I could drink the cup, 
If, from this woe, its bitterness had won thee. 
May God have called thee, like a wanderer, home, 
My erring Absalom ! — Willis. 



Key to Expression. 181 

There's not a wretch that lives on common charity 

But's happier than me. For I have known 

The luscious sweets of plenty : every night 

Have slept with soft content about my head, 

And never waked but to a joyful morning. 

Yet now must fall like a full ear of corn, » 

Whose blossom 'scaped, yet's withered in the ripening. 

0, how our hearts were beating when at the dawn of day 

We saw the army of the league, drawn out in long array ; 

With all its priest-led citizens, and all its rebel peers, 

And Appenzel's stout infantry, and Egmont's Flemish 
spears, 

There rode the brood of false Lorraine, the curses of our 
land, 

And dark Mayenne was in the midst, a truncheon in his 
hand ; 

And as we looked on them, we thought of Seine's empur- 
pled flood, 

And good Coligne's hoary hair all dabbled with his blood ; 

And we cried unto the living God, who rules the fate of 
war, 

To fight for his own Holy Name, and Henry of Navarre. 

— Macaulay. 

They're gone ! they're gone ! the glimmering spark hath 

fled. 
The wife and child are numbered with the dead ! 
On the cold hearth outstretched, in solemn rest, 
The child lies frozen on its mother's breast ! 
The gambler came at last, but all was o'er ; 
Dead silence reigned around. The clock struck four. 

— Coates. 



182 Key to Expression. 

Seems, madam ! nay, it is; I know not seems, 
7 Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, 
Nor customary suits of solemn black, 
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath; 
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, 
Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage, 
Together with all forms, modes, and shows of grief, 
That can denote me truly : these, indeed, seem, 
For they are actions that a man might play : 
But T have that within which passeth show, 
These — but the trappings and the suits of woe. 

— Hamlet. 

But, ! how altered was its sprightlier tone, 

When Cheerfulness, a nymph of healthiest hue, 

Her bow across her shoulder flung, 

Her buskins gemmed with morning dew, 

Blew an inspiring air, that dale and thicket rung. 

The hunter's call, to .Faun and Dryad known. 

The oak-crowned sisters and their chaste-eyed queen, 

Satyrs and sylvan boys were seen, 

Peeping from forth their alleys green : 

Brown Exercise rejoiced to hear, 

And Sport leaped up and seized his beechen spear 

— Collins. 

Though my scarred and veteran legions 

Bear their eagles high no more, 
And my wrecked and scattered galleys 

Strew dark Acthim's fatal shore; 
Though no glittering guards surround me, 

Prompt to do their master's will, 
I must perish like a Eoman, 

Die the great Triumvir still. — W. H. Lytle. 



Key to Expression. 183 

There is often sadness in the tone, 

And a moisture in the eye, 
And a trembling sorrow in the voice, 

When we bid a last good-bye ; 
But sadder far than this, I ween, 

0, sadder far than all, 
Is the heart-throb with which we strain 

To catch the last footfall. 

With eyes upraised, as one inspired, 

Pale Melancholy sat retired; 

And, from her wild sequestered seat, 

In notes by distance made more sweet, 
Poured through the mellow horn her pensive soul ; 

And dashing soft from rocks around, 

Bubbling runnels joined the sound: 
Through glades and" glooms the mingled measures stole, 
Or, o'er some haunted stream, with fond delay 

(Pound a holy calm diffusing, 

Love of peace and lonely musing), 
In hollow murmurs die away. — Collins. 

Cure her of that : 
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased ; 
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow ; 
Paze out the written troubles of the brain; 
And with some sweet, oblivious antidote, 
Cleanse the foul bosom of that perilous stuff, 
Which weighs upon the heart? — Macbeth. 

There's nothing in this world can make me joy ; 
Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale, 
Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man. 

— King John. 



184 Key to Expression. 

They strike ! hurrah ! the fort has surrendered ! 
Shout ! shout ! my warrior boy. 
And wave your cap, and clap your hands for joy. 
Cheer, answer cheer, and bear the cheer about. 
Hurrah ! Hurrah ! for the fiery fort is ours. 
Victory ! Victory ! Victory ! is the shout. 
Shout, for the fiery fort is ours ; and the field, 
And the day are ours ! 

Alas! my noble boy: that thou shouldst die! 

Thou, who wert made so beautifully fair; 

That death should settle in thy glorious eye, 

And leave his stillness in this clustering hair : 

How could he mark thee for the silent tomb, 

My proud boy Absalom? — Willis. 

now, forever, 
Farewell the tranquil mind ! Farewell content ! 
Farewell the plumed troop, and the big wars, 
That make ambition virtue ! 0, farewell ! 
Farewell the neighing steed, and the shrill trump, 
The spirit-stirring drum, the ear-piercing fife, 
The royal banner ; and all quality, 
Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war ! 
And, 0, you mortal engines, whose rude throats 
The immortal Jove's dread clamors counterfeit, 
Farewell ! Othello's occupation's gone ! — Othello. 

Banish'd, is banished from the world, 
And world's exile is death : then banish'd 
Is death misterm'd : calling death banishment, 
Thou cut'st my head off with a golden ax, 
And smil'st upon the stroke that murders me. 

— Romeo and Juliet. 



Key to Expression. 185 

My solitude is solitude no more, 
But peopled with the furies; I have gnash'd 
My teeth in darkness till returning morn, 
Then cursed myself at sunset ! I have prayed 
For madness as a blessing — 'tis denied me ! 

Amaz'd he stands, nor voice nor body stirs : 
Words had no passage, tears no issue found; 
For sorrow shut up words, wrath kept in tears : 
Confus'd effects each other do confound : 
Oppressed with grief, his passions had no bound; 
Striving to tell his woes, words would not come, 
For light cares speak when mighty griefs are dumb. 

— Daniel. 

My crown is in my heart, not on my head ; 
Not deck'd with diamonds and Indian stones, 
N"or to be seen ; my crown is called content ; 
A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy. 

— Henry VI. 

There was mounting 'mong Graemes of the Netherby clan ; 

Forsters, Fenwicks, and Miusgraves, they rode and they ran : 

There was racing and chasing on Cannobie lea, 

But the lost bride of Netherby ne'er did they see. 

So daring in love, and so dauntless in war, 

Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar ? 

—Scott. 

I will despair, and be at enmity 

With cozening hope ; he is a flatterer, 

A parasite, a keeper back of death, 

Who gently would dissolve the bands of life, 

Which false hope lingers in. extremity. 

— Richard II. 



186 Key to Expression. 

Last came Joy's ecstatic trial : 

He, with viny crown advancing, 

First to the lively pipe his hand addressed ; 

But soon he saw the brisk, awakening viol, 

Whose sweet, entrancing voice he loved the best. 

They would have thought, who heard the strain, 

They saw in Tempers vale her native maids, 

Amid the festal-sounding shades, 

To some unwearied minstrel dancing, 

While, as his flying fingers kissed the strings, 

Love framed with Mirth a gay, fantastic round 

(Loose were her tresses seen, her zone unbound), 

And he, amidst his frolic play, 

As if he would the charming air repay, 

Shook thousand odors from his dewy wings. 

— Collins. 

There are a sort of men, whose visages 
Do cream and mantle, like a standing pond ; 
And do a willful stillness entertain, 
With purpose to be dressed in an opinion 
Of wisdom, gravity, profound conceit; 
As who should say, I am Sir Oracle, 
And when I ope my lips, let no clog bark ! 

— Merchant of Venice. 

Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness ! 
This is the state of man : to-day he puts forth 
The tender leaves of hopes; to-morrow blossoms, 
And bears his blushing honors thick upon him ; 
The third day comes a frost, a killing frost, 
And — when he thinks, good, easy man, full surely 
His greatness is a ripening — nips his root, 
And then he falls as I do. — Henry VIII. 



Key to Expression. 187 

0, my lord, 
Must I then leave you ? Must I needs forego 
So good, so noble, and so true a master ? 
Bear witness, all that have not hearts of iron, 
With what a sorrow Cromwell leaves his lord. 
The kings shall have my service; but my prayers, 
Forever, and forever, shall be yours. — Henry VIII. 

Give me your hand, Bassanio; fare you well? 
Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you; 
For herein Fortune shows herself more kind 
Than is her custom : it is still her use 
To let the wretched man outlive his wealth, 
To view with hollow eye and wrinkled brow, 
An age of poverty; from which ling' ring penance 
Of such misery doth she cut me off. 

— Merchant of Venice. 

Now let Nature's hand 
Keep the wild flood confined ! Let order die ! 
And let this world no longer be a stage, 
To feed contention in a lingering act; 
But let one spirit of the firstborn Cain 
Eeign in all bosoms, that, each heart being set 
On bloody courses, the rude scene may end, 
And darkness be the burier of the dead. 

— Henry IV. 

Helicanus, strike me, honor' d sir; 
Give me a gash, put me to present pain; 
Lest this great sea of joys rushing upon me, 
O'erbear the shores of my mortality, 
And drown me with their sweetness. 

— Pericles, Prince of Tyre. 



i< s s Key to Expression. 

The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year, 
Of wailing winds, and naked woods, and meadows brown 

and sear. 
Heaped in the hollows of the grove, the autumn leaves lie 

dead; 
They rustle to the eddying gust, and to the rabbit's tread. 
The robin and the wren are flown, and from the shrubs the 

jay, 
And from the wood top calls the crow through all the 

gloomy day. — Bryant. 

Verily, 
I swear 'tis better to be lowly born, 
And range with humble livers in content, 
Than to be perk'd up in a glistering grief, 
And wear a golden sorrow. — Henry VIII. 

Whip me, ye devils, 
From the possessions of this heavenly sight ! 
Blow me about in winds ! roast me in sulphur ! 
Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire! 
Desdemona ! — Othello. 

My grief lies all within, 
And these external manners and laments 
Are merely shadows to the unseen grief, 
That swells with silence in the tortur'd soul. 

— Richard II. 

Then England's ground, farewell ; sweet soil, adieu ; 
My mother, and my nurse, that bears me yet ! 
Where'er I wander, boast of this I can, 
Though banish'd, yet a true-born Englishman. 

— Richard II. 



Key to Expression. 189 

sovereign mistress of true melancholy, 

The poisonous damp of night disponge upon me; 
That life, a very rebel to my will, 
May hang no longer on me; throw my heart 
Against the flint and hardness of my fault; 
Which, being dried with grief, will break to powder, 
And finish all foul thoughts. 

— Antony and Cleopatra. 

I remember, I remember 

The house where I was born — 
The little window where the sun 

Came peeping in at morn. 
He never came a wink too soon, 

Nor brought too long a day; 
But now I often wish the night 

Had borne my breath away. 

I have ventured, 
Like little wanton boys that swim on bladders, 
This many summers in a sea of glory, 
But far beyond my depth: my high-blown pride 
At length broke under me, and now has left me 
Weary and old with service, to the mercy 
Of a rude stream, that must forever hide me. 

Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye : 

1 feel "my heart new open'd. 0, how wretched 
Is that poor man, that hangs- on prince's favors ! 
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to, 
That sweet aspect of princes and their ruin, 
More pangs and fears than wars or women have ; 
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer — 

Never to hope again. t — Henry VIII. 



190 Key to Expression. 

what a noble mind is here overthrown ! 

The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's eye, tongue, sword. 

The expectancy and rose of the fair state, 

The glass of fashion, and the mold of form, 

The observ'd of all observers ; quite, quite down. 

And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, 

That suck'd the honey of his music vows, 

Now see that sovereign and most noble reason, 

Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; 

That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth, 

Blasted with ecstacy: 0, woe is me! 

To have seen what I have seen, see what I see ! 

— Hamlet. 

Xow are our brows bound with victorious wreaths ; 
Our bruised arms hung up for monument ; 
Our stern alarum chang'd to merry meeting, 
Our dreadful marches to delightful measures. 
Grim-visag'd war has smooth'd his wrinkled front; 
And now, instead of mounting barbed steeds, 
To fright the souls of fearful adversaries, 
He capers nimbly in a lady's chamber, 
To the lascivious pleasing of a lute. — Richard III. 

Hark to the brazen blare of the bugle ! 
Hark to the rattling clatter of the drums, 
The measured tread of the steel-clad footmen ! 
Hark to the laboring horses' breath, 
Painfully tugging the harnessed cannon; 
The shrill, sharp clink of the warriors' swords, 
As their chargers bound when the trumpets sound 
Their alarums through the echoing mountains. 

— Boker. 



Key to Expression. 191 

I bind the Sun's throne with a burning zone, 

And the Moon's with a girdle of pearls ; 
The Volcanoes are dim, and the Stars reel and swim, 

When the Whirlwinds my banner unfurl. 
From cape to cape, with a bridgelike shape, 

Over a torrent sea, 
Sunbeam proof, I hang like a roof ; 

The Mountains its columns be. 
The triumphal arch through which I march, 

With hurricane, fire, and snow, 
When the Powers of the air are chained to My chair, 

Is the million-colored bow ; 
The Sphere-fire above its soft colors wove, 

While the moist earth was laughing below. 

— Shelley. 

Can it he that she has been lying so many months in 
the cold grave? Would that I could always remember it, 
or always forget it; but to think a moment on other things, 
and then feel the remembrance of it come, as if for the first 
time, rends my heart asunder. my gracious God, what 
should 1 do without thee ? But now thou art manifesting 
thyself as " the God of all consolation." Never was I so 
near thee. There is nothing in the world for which I could 
wish to live, except because it may please God to appoint 
me some work to do. thou incomprehensibly glorious 
Savior, what hast thou done to alleviate the sorrows of 
life ! —Martyji. 



192 Key to Expression. 

EXAMPLES OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE 
AFFECTIONS. 

Brutus and Caesar! What should be in that Caesar? 
Why should that name be sounded more than yours? 
Write them together : Yours is as fair a name ; 
Sound them: it doth become the mouth as well; 
Weigh them : it is as heavy ; conjure with them : 
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar. 

r ulius Ccesar. 



I see the dagger crest of Mars, 

I see the Moray's silver star, 

Wave o'er the cloud of Saxon war, 

That up the lake comes winding far \ 

To hero, bound for battle strife, 

Or bard of Martial lay. 

'Twere worth ten years of peaceful life, 

One glance at that array. — Scott. 

0, that we were on the dark wave together, 
With but one plank between us and destruction, 
That I might grasp him in these desperate arms, 
* And plunge with him amid the weltering billows, 
And view him gasp for life. 

0, with what pride I used 

To walk these hills, and look up to my God, 

And bless Him that the land was free. 'Twas free — 

From end to end, from cliff to lake, 'twas free — 

Free as our torrents are that leap our rocks, 

And plow our valleys, without asking leave! 

Or as our peaks, that wear their caps of snow 

In very presence of the regal sun ! 

— Sheridan Knowles. 



Key to Expression. 193 

Bless Jehovah, my soul ! Jehovah, my God, thou 
art exalted exceedingly ! Thou putt'st on glory and maj- 
esty, covering thyself with light, as with a garment. Who 
spread'st out the heavens like a tent ; who lay'st the beams 
of his chambers on the waters; who maketh the clouds his 
chariots; who walketh on the wings of the wind; who mak- 
eth the winds his messengers; his servants, a consuming 
fire. — Bible. 

Hail, Source of being ! Universal Soul 
Of heaven and earth ! Essential Presence, hail ! 
To Thee I bend the knee ; who with a master hand 
Hast the great whole into perfection touched. 

Hence ! loathed Melancholy ! 

Where brooding darkness spreads her jealous wings, 

And the night raven sings ; 

There, under ebon shades and low-browed rocks, 

As ragged as thy locks, 

In dark Cimmerian darkness ever dwell. 

Next Anger rushed, his eyes on fire, 
In lightnings owned his secret stings; 

In one rude clash he struck the lyre, 

And swept, with hurried hand, the strings. 

— Collins. 

" Ha ! bind him on his back ! 
Look ! — as Prometheus in my picture here ! 
Quick- — or he faints ! stand with the cordial near ! 
Now bend him to the rack ! 
Press down the poison'd links into his flesh ! 
And tear agape that healing wound afresh ! 
So let him writhe ! " —N. P. Willis. 

7 



194 Key to Expression. 

But these are the days of advance, the works of the men 
of mind. 
When who but a fool would have faith in a tradesman's 
ware or his word? 
Is it peace or war? Civil war, as I think, and that of a 
kind 
The viler, as underhand, not openly bearing the sword. 

Why do they prate of the blessings of Peace? we have 
made them a curse, 
Pickpockets, each hand lusting for all that is not his 
own ; 
And lust of gain, in the spirit of Cain, is it better or worse 
Than the heart of the citizen hissing in war on his own 
hearthstone ? — Tennyson. 

great Sciolto ! my more than father ! 

Let me not live, but at thy very name, 

My eager heart springs up, and leaps with joy, 

When I forget the vast debt I owe thee. 

Forget — but 'tis impossible, then let me 

Forget the use and privilege of reason — 

Be banished from the commerce of mankind, 

Go wander in the desert, among brutes, 

To be the scorn of earth, and the curse of heaven. 

Cursed be the social wants that sin against the strength of 

Youth! 
Cursed be the social lies that warp us from the living 

truth ! 
Cursed be the sickly forms that err from honest nature's 

rule ! 
Cursed be the gold that gilds the straightened forehead of 

the fool ! — Tennyson. 






Key to Expression. 195 

And, whether we shall meet again, I know not. 
Therefore, our everlasting farewell take : 
Forever, and forever, farewell, Cassius ! 
If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; 
If not, why then, this parting was well made. 
Cassius. Forever, and forever, farewell, Brutus ! 
If we do meet again, we'll smile indeed; 
If not, 'tis true, this parting was well made. 

— Julius C(rsar 

" But, Mr. Speaker, we have a right to tax America." 
0, inestimable right ! 0, wonderful, transcendent right ! 
the assertion of which has cost this country thirteen prov- 
inces, six islands, one hundred thousand lives, and seventy 
millions of money. 0, invaluable right! for the sake of 
which we have sacrificed our rank among nations, our im- 
portance abroad, and our happiness at home ! 0, right ! 
more dear to us than our existence ! which has already cost 
us so much, and which seems likely to cost us our all. 

He established the earth on its foundations; it shall not 
be removed forever and ever. Thou didst cover it with the 
floods as with a garment ; the waters arose upon the. moun- 
tains. From thy rebuke they fled, from the roar of thy 
thunder they hasted away. The mountains rise up; they 
flow down into the valleys, to the place which thou hast 
appointed for them. Thou hast established a limit, which 
they shall not overflow ; they shall not 'again return to cover 
the earth. He setteth loose the springs in brooks; they 
flow among the mountains. They give drink to all beasts 
of the field ; the wild asses quench their thirst. Near them 
the fowls of heaven inhabit ; they sing from among the 
branches. — Bible. 



196 Key to Expression. 

0, there be players, that I have seen plaj, and heard oth- 
ers praise, and that rightly, not to speak it profanely, that, 
neither having the accent of Christian, nor the gait of 
Christian, pagan, nor man, have so strutted and bellowed, 
that I have thought some of nature's journeymen had 
made men, and not made them well, they imitated human- 
ity so abominably. — Hamlet. 

Live, loathed and long, 
You smiling, smooth, detested parasites, 
Courteous destroyers, affable wolves, meek bears, 
You fools of fortune, time flies ! 
Cap and knee slaves, vapors, and minute jacks 
Of man and beast — the infinite malady. 

I can as well be hanged, as tell the manner of it : it was 
mere foolery ; I did not mark it. I saw Mark Antony offer 
him a crown — yet 'twas not a crown either, 'twas one of 
these coronets — and, as I told you, he put it by once : but, 
for all that, to my thinking, he would fain have had it. 
Then he offered it to him again ; then he put it by again : 
but, to my thinking, he was very loth to lay his fingers off 
it. And then he offered it the third time: he put it the 
third time by; and still as he refused it, the rabblement 
hooted, and clapped their chapped hands, and threw up 
their sweaty nightcaps, and uttered such a deal of stinking 
breath, because Caesar refused the crown, that it had almost 
choked Caesar ; for he swooned and fell down at it. 

— Julius Owsar. 

0, that the slave had forty thousand lives ! 
One is too poor, too weak for my revenge. 

Had all his hairs been lives, my great revenge 
Had stomach for them all. — Othello. 



Key to Expression. 197 

Bless the Lord, my soul ! Lord, my God, Thou 
art very great ; Thou art clothed with honor and majesty ; 
who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; who 
stretchiest out the heaven like a curtain; who layest the 
beams of His chambers in the waters: who maketh the 
clouds His chariots; who walketh upon the wings of the 
wind ; who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should 
not be removed forever. — Bible. 

" Turn, turn, thou traitor knight ! 
Thou bold tongue in a lady's bower, 
Thou dastard in a fight ! " — Boker. 

villain, villian ! His very opinion in the letter ! 

Abhorred villain ! Unnatural, detestable, brutish villain ! 

Worse than brutish ! Go sirrah, seek him ! 

I'll apprehend him. Abominable villain ! 

Where is he? — Shakespeare. 

When one of our number is sick or distressed, 
He is sure of kind treatment from each of the rest ; 
We sympathize warmly with those who're in grief, 
And are eager to proffer immediate relief. 

i 

Once in a race I stood well front, 

And I saw the prize was mine that day, 
When a wanderer bade me stop and tell 

Of two roads which was the better way. 
I gazed on his face ; it was wan and worn, 

'Twould have pained my heart to say him nay. 
I stopped and guided him on his path, 

And he blessed me as he turned away. 
My race was lost, and my rival won, 

But my heart felt better for what I'd done. 



198 Key to Expression. 

thou eternal One ! whose presence bright 

All space doth occupy, all notion guide ; 
Unchanged through time's all devastating flight ! 

Thou only God — there is no God beside ! 
Being above all beings ! Mighty One, 

Whom none can comprehend and none explore; 
Who fill'st existence with Thyself alone, 

Embracing all, supporting, ruling o'er ; 

Being whom we call God, and know no more ! 

— Derzhavcn. 

Breathes there a man, with soul so dead 

Who never to himself hath said, 

This is my own, my native land ! 

Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned, 

As home his footsteps he hath turned 

From wandering on a foreign strand ! 

If such there breathe, go, mark him well ; 

For him no minstrel raptures swell ; 

High though his title, proud his name, 

Boundless his wealth as wish can claim ; 

Despite those titles, power, and pelf, 

The wretch, concentered all in self, 

Living, shall forfeit fair renown ; 

And, doubly dying, shall go down 

To the vile dust, from which he sprung, 

Unwept, unhonor'd, and unsung. — Scott. 

May he live 
Longer than I have time to tell his years ! 
Ever beloved, and loving may his rule be ! 
And when old time shall lead him to his end 
Goodness and he fill up one monument. 

' —Henry VIII. 



Key to Exvkession. 199 

Ye gods ! it d»th amaze me, 
A man of such a feeble temper should 
So get the start of the majestic world, 
And bear the palm alone. 
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world 
Like a Colossus, and we, petty men, 
Walk under his huge legs, and peep about, 
To find ourselves dishonorable graves. 

— Julius Ccesar. 

! God ! that horrid, horrid dream 

Besets me now awake; 

Again, again, with dizzy brain, 

The human life I take ; 

And my red right hand grows raging hot, 

■Like Cranmer's at the stake, 

And still no peace for the restless clay, 

Will wave or mould allow; 

The horrid thing pursues my soul — 

It stands before me now. — Hood. 

" Hail, Mary ! " lo, it rings through ages on ; 
" Hail, Mary ! " it shall sound till time is done. 

" Hail, Mary ! " infant lips lisp it to-day; 
" Hail, Mary ! " with faint smile the dying say. 
" Hail, Mary ! " many a broken heart with grief, 
In that angelic prayer has found relief. 

You nimble lightnings, dart your blinding names 
Into her scornful eyes ! Infect her beauty. 
You fen-sucked fogs, drawn by the powerful sun, 
To fall and blast her pride ! — King Lear. 



200 Key to Expression. 

They never fail who die 
In a great cause ; the block may soak their gore, 
Their heads may sodden in the sun ; their limbs 
Be strung to city gates or castle walls — 
But still their spirit walks abroad. The years 
Elapse, and others share as dark a doom. 
They but augment the deep and sweeping thoughts 
Which overspread all others and conduct 
The world at last to freedom. — Byron. 

On the Earl's cheek, the flush of rage, 

O'er came the ashen hue of age ; 

Fierce he broke forth, "And darest thou then 

To beard the lion in his den, 

The Douglass in his hall? 

And hopest thou hence unscathed to go ? 

No, by Saint Bride of Bothwell, no ! 

Up drawbridge, grooms — What, Warder, ho ! 

Let the portcullis fall." — Scott. 

Thy numbers, Jealousy, to nought were fixed — 

Sad proof of thy distressful state ; 
Of differing themes the veering song was mixed ; 

And now it courted Love; now, raving, called on Hate. 

— Collins. 

This was the noblest Boman of them all. 
All the conspirators, save only he, 
Did that they did in envy of great Caesar ; 
He, only, in a general honest thought, 
And common good to all, made one of them. 
His life was gentle; and the elements 
So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand up, 
And say to all the world, " This was a man ! " 

r ulius Cwsar. 



Key to Expression. 201 

And longer had she sung, but with a frown, 
Kevenge impatient rose. 

He threw his blood-stained sword in thunder down, 
And, with a withering look, 
The war-denouncing trumpet took, 
And blew a blast so loud and dread, 
Were ne'er prophetic sounds so full of woe; 
And ever and anon, he beat 
The doubling drum with furious heat ; 
And though, sometimes, each drearj_pause between, 
Dejected Pity at his side, 
Her soul-subduing voice applied, 
Yet still he kept his wild, unaltered mien ; 
While each strained, ball of sight seemed bursting from 
his head. — Collins. 

If the overthrow of our government is inevitable, let it 
be so ! If civil war, which appears to so much threaten, 
must come, I can only say, let it be so ! If blood be nec- 
essary to extinguish any fire I have enkindled, I shall not 
hesitate to contribute my own! And if I am doomed to 
fall, I shall at least have the painful consolation to fall as 
a fragment of the ruins of my country. — Webster. 

0, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious, periwig- 
pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split 
the ears of the groundlings ; who for the most part are 
capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb-shows and noise. 

— Hamlet. 

And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, 
and said, Cry aloud ; for he is a god ! either he is talking, 
or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he 
sleepeth, and must be awaked. — Bible. 



202 Key to Expression. 

It took Rome three hundred years to die; and our death, 
if we perish, will be as much more terrific as our intelli- 
gence and free institutions have given us more bone, sinew, 
and vitality. May God bide me from the day when the 
dying agonies of my country shall begin. 0, thou beloved 
land, bound together by the ties of brotherhood, and 
common interest, and perils ! live forever — one and un- 
divided! — Beech or. 

Poison be their drink ! 
Gall, worse than gfrll, the daintiest meat they taste ! 
Their softest touch as smart as lizards' stings ! 
Their music frightful as the serpent's hiss ! 
And boding screech-owls make their concert full ! 

Canst thou forgive me all my follies past? 
I'll henceforth be indeed a father ; never, 
Never more thus expose, but cherish thee, 
Dear as the vital warmth that feeds my life, 
Dear as those eyes that weep in fondness o'er thee ; 
Peace to thy heart. — Venice Preserved. 

There was a laughing devil in his sneer, 
That caused emotions, both of rage and fear; 
And where his frown of katred darkly fell, 
Hope withering fled, and Mercy sighed farewell. 

— Byron. 

And after these things I heard a great voice of much 
people in heaven, saying, Alleluia: Salvation, and glory. 
and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God. And again 
they said, Alleluia. And I heard as it were the voice of a 
great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as 
the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia; for the 
Lord God omnipotent reigneth. — Bible. 



Key to Expression. 203 

wv Why wouldst thou leave me, gentle child? 
Thy home on the mountain is bleak and wild — 
A straw-roofed cabin, with lowly wall; 
Mine is a fair and pillared hall, 
Where many an image of marble gleams. 
And the sunshine of pictures forever streams. 

" ! green is the turf where my brothers play, 
Through the long, bright hours of the summer clay; 
They find t]ie red cup-moss where they climb. 
And they chase the bee o'er the scented thyme, 
And the rocks where the heath-flower blooms they know — 
Lady, kind lady, 0, let me go ! " 

I could have bid you live, had life been to you the same 
weary and wasting burden that it is to me, that it is to 
every noble and generous mind. But 3^011, Wretch ! you 
could creep through the world, unaffected by its various 
disgraces, its ineffable miseries, its constantly accumulating 
masses of crime and sorrow; you could live and enjoy your- 
self, while the noble minded are betrayed — while nameless 
and birthless villains tread on the neck of the brave and 
long descended; you could enjoy yourself like a butcher's 
dog in the shambles — fattening on garbage, while the 
slaughter of the brave went on around you! this enjoyment 
you shall not live to partake of; you shall die — base dog, 
and that before yon cloud has passed over the sun. 

— Scott. 

Roane ! Rome ! thou hast been a tender nurse to me. 
Ay, thou hast given to that poor, gentle, timid shepherd 
lad, who never knew a harsher tone than a flute-note, 
muscles of iron and a heart of flint; t alight him to drive 
the sword through plaited mail and links of rugged brass, 
and warm it in the marrow of his foe. — E. Kellogg. 



204 Key to Expression. 

I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my for- 
tress; my God; in him will I trust. Because he hath 
set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will 
set him on high, because he hath known my name. He 
shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with 
him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With 
long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation. 

— Bible. 

Cursed be that tongue that bids me of comfort, 
Cursed my own tongue that could not move his pity, 
Cursed these weak hands that could not hold him here, 
For he is gone to doom Alphonso's death. 

Ask ye what ye should do ? 
Would ye seek instruction ? Ask ye yon conscious walls, 
Which saw his poisoned brother, saw the crime 
Committed there, and they will cry revenge ! 
Ask yonder senate house, whose stones are purple 
With human blood, and it will cry revenge ! 
Go to the poor queen who loved him as her son, 
Their unappeased ghosts will shriek revenge ! 
The temples of the gods, the all-viewing heaven — 
The gods themselves — will justify the cry, 
And swell the general sound revenge ! revenge ! 

Come, away, away! 
We'll burn his body in the holy place, 
And with the brands fire the traitors' houses. 
Take up the body. Go fetch fire. 
Pluck down benches. 
Pluck down forms, windows, anything. 

— Julius Crrsar. 



Key to Expression. 205 

Up from the meadows rich with corn, 
Clear in the cool September morn, 
The clustered spires of Frederick stand 
Green-walled by the hills of Maryland. 

The quality of mercy is not strained ; 

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 

Upon the place beneath : it is twice bless'd, 

It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes : 

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest, it becomes 

The throned monarch better than his crown; 

His scepter shows the force of temporal power, 

The attribute to awe and majesty, 

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings, 

But mercy is above this sceptered sway, 

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings : 

It is an attribute to God himself; 

And earthly power doth then show likest God's, 

When mercy seasons justice. 

— Merchant of Venice. 

On this I ponder, 
Where'er I wander, 
And thus grow fonder, 

Sweet Cork, of thee ; 
With thy bells of Shandon, 
That sound so grand on 
The pleasant waters 

Of the river Lee. — Francis Mahony. 

I, as iEneas, our great ancestor, 
Did from the flames of Troy, upon his shoulder, 
The old Anchises bear, so, from the waves of Tiber, 
Did I the tired Cassar. ' — Julius Caesar. 



206 Key to Expression. 

I love it ! I love it ! and who shall dare 

To chide me for loving that old arm-chair? 

I've treasured it long as a sainted prize, 

I've bedewed it with tears and embalmed it with sighs ; 

Tis bound by a thousand bands to my heart, 

Not a tie will break, not a link will start ; 

"Would you know the spell ? A mother sat there ! 

And a sacred thing is that old arm-chair. 

I sat and watched her many a day 

When her eyes grew dim and her locks were gray, 

And I almost worshiped her when she smiled 

And turned from her Bible to bless her child : 

Years rolled on, but the last one sped, 

My idol was shattered, my earth star fled ; 

I felt how much the heart can bear 

When I saw her die in that old arm-chair. 

He which hath no stomach for this fight, 
Let him depart : his passport shall be made, 
And crowns for convey put into his purse : 
W T e would not die in that man's company 
That fears his fellowship to die with us. 

— Henry V. 

Lo ! I forgive thee, as eternal God 

Forgives : do thou for thine own soul the rest. 

— Tennyson. 

No ; I am no emissary. My ambition was to hold a place 
among the deliverers of my country — not in power, not in 
profit, but in the glory of the achievement. Sell my coun- 
try's independence to France ! and for what ? A change of 
masters? No, but for ambition! — Robert Emmett. 



Key to Expression. 207 

He is my bane, I cannot bear him ; 

One heaven and earth can never hold us both: 

Still shall we hate, and with defiance deadly, 

Keep rage alive till one be lost forever ; 

As if two suns should meet in one meridian, 

And strive in fiery combat for the passage. 

Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundations 
of the earth ; and the heavens are the works of thy hands ; 
they shall perish, but thou remainest: and they all shall 
wax old as doth a garment ; and as a vesture shalt thou 
fold them up, and they shall be changed : but thou art the 
same, and thy years shall not fail. — Bible. 

Tell me, I hate the bowl ; 
Hate is a feeble word ; 
I loathe, abhor ; my very soul 
With strong disgust is stirred 
Whene'er I see or hear or tell 
Of the dark beverage of hell ! 

Hast thou a charm to stay the morning star 
In his steep course ? So long he seems to pause 
On thy bald, awful head, sovereign Blanc ! 
The Arve and the Arveiron at thy base 
Have ceaselessly; but thou, most awful form, 
Eiseth from forth thy silent sea of pines, 
How silently ! Around thee and above, 
Deep is the air and dark, substantial black, 
An ebon mass. Methinks thou piercest it 
As with a wedge ! But when I look again 
It is thine own calm home, thy crystal shrine, 
Thy habitation from eternity. — Coleridge. 



208 Key to Expression. 

Thou slave ! thou wretch ! thou coward ! 
Thou little valiant, great in villainy ! 
Thou ever strong- upon the stronger side ! 
Thou fortune's champion, thou dost never fight 
But when her humorous ladyship is by 
To teach thee safety ! Thou art perjured, too, 
And sooth'st up greatness ! What a fool art thou, 
A ramping fool, to brag, and stamp, and sweat, 
Upon my party ! Thou cold-blooded slave, 
Hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side ? 
Been sworn my soldier? bidding me depend 
Upon thy stars, thy fortune, and thy strength ? 
And dost thou now fall over to my foes ? 
Thou wear a lion's hide ? Doff it for shame, 
And hang a calf's skin on those recreant limbs. 

— King John. 

See, what a grace was seated on this brow; 

Hyperion's curls ; the front of Jove himself ; 

An eye like Mars, to threaten and command ; 

A station like the herald Mercury, 

New lighted on a heaven-kissing hill; 

A combination, and a form, indeed, 

Where every god did seem to set his seal, 

TO give the world assurance of a man. — Hamlet. 

I had a dream, which was not all a dream ; 
The bright sun was extinguished, and the stars 
Did wander darkling in the eternal space, 
Rayless and pathless, and the icy earth 
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air ; 
Morn came and went^ and came and brought no day. 

— Byron. 



Key to Expression. 209 

Thou art, God ! the life and light 
Of all this wondrous world we see ; 

Its glow by day, its smile by night, 
Are but reflections caught from thee. 

Where'er we turn, thy glories shine, 

And all things fair and bright are thine. 

You common cry . of curs ! whose breath I hate 
As reek o' the rotten fens — whose love I prize 
As the dead carcasses of unburied men, 
That do corrupt my air — I banish you. 

— Shakespeare. 

How in the name of soldiership and sense 

Should England prosper, when such things, so smooth 

And tender as a girl, all essenced o'er 

With odors, and as profligate as sweet ; 

Who sell their laurel for a myrtle wreath, 

And love when they should fight ; when such as these 

Presume to lay their hand upon the ark 

Of her magnificent and awful cause? 

dread and silent Mount ! I gazed upon thee 
Till thou, still present to the bodily sense, 

Didst vanish from my thought. Entranced in prayer, 

1 worshiped the Invisible alone. 

Yet, like some sweet, beguiling melody, 

So sweet we know not we are listening to it, 

Thou, the meanwhile, wast blending with my thought — 

Yea, with my life and life's own secret joy — 

Till the dilating soul, enrapt, transfused, 

Into the mighty vision passing, there 

As in her natural form, swelled vast to heaven. 

— Coleridge. 



210 Key to Expression. 

Villains, you did not so when your vile daggers 

Hacked one another in the sides of Caesar; 

You showed your teeth like apes, and fawned like hounds, 

And bowed like bondmen, kissing Coasar's feet; 

Whilst damned Oasca, like a cur,, behind 

Struck Caesar on the neck. — Julius Ccesar. 

Hear me, rash man ; on thy allegiance hear me ; 

Since thou hast striven to make us break our vow, 

Which nor our nature, nor our place can bear, 

We banish thee forever from our sight, 

And our kingdom. If when three days are expired, 

Thy hated trunk be found in our dominions, 

That moment is thy death. Away ! — King Lear. 

heaven ! he cried, my bleeding country save ! 
Is there no arm on high to shield the brave ? 
Yet, tho' destruction sweep those lovely plains, 
Eise, fellow-men ! our country yet remains ! 
By that dread name we wave the sword on high, 
And swear with her to live — for her to die. 

As some fierce comet of tremendous size, 

To which the stars did reverence as it passed : 

So he through learning and through fancy took 

His flight sublime; and on the loftiest top 

Of fame's dread mountain sat ; not soiled, and worn, 

As he from the earth had labored up ; 

But as some bird of heavenly plumage fair, 

He looked, which down from higher regions came, 

And perched it there, to see what lay beneath. 

Great man! the nations gazed, and wondered much, 

And praised : and many called his evil, good. 

—Pollolc, 



Key to Expression. 2 1 1 

Satan beheld their flight, 
And to his mates thus, in derision, called : 
" friends ! why come not on those visitors proud ? 
Ere while, the}' fierce were coming, and when we, 
To entertain them fair, with open front, and breast, 
What could we more? propounded terms 
Of composition strait they changed their minds, 

Flew off, and into strange vagaries fell, 

As they would dance ; yet for a dance, t^iey raised 

Somewhat extravagant and wild, perhaps for 

Joy of offered peace ; but I suppose, 

If our proposals once again were heard, 

We would compel them to quick result." — Milton. 

Hark ! the death denouncing trumpet sounds 
The fatal charge, and shouts proclaim the onset. 
Destruction rushes dreadful to the field, 
And bathes itself in blood. Havoc let loose, 
Now undistinguished, rages all around; 
While ruin, seated on her dreary throne, 
Sees the plain strewed with subjects, truly hers, 
Breathless and cold. 

"We will be revenged: revenge — about — seek — burn — 
fire — kill — slay — let not a traitor live. — Julius Cwsar. 

the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are his judgments, 
and his ways past finding out ! For who hath known the 
mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor? Or 
who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed 
unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to 
him, are all things : to whom be glory forever. Amen. 

— Bible. 



212 Key to Expression. 

Of all God made upright, 
And in their nostrils breathed a living soul, 
Most fallen, most prone, most earthy, most debased; 
Of all that sell Eternity for Time, 
None bargain on so easy terms with Death. 
Illustrious fool ! nay, most inhuman wretch ! 
He sits among his bags, and, with a look 
Which hell might be ashamed of, drives the poor 
Away unalmsed, and midst abundance dies, 
Sorest of evils ! dies of utter want. — PolloJc. 

All hail the power of Jesus' name! 

Let angels prostrate fall : 
Bring forth the royal diadem, 

And crown him Lord of all. 

Let every kindred, every tribe, 

On this terrestrial ball, 
To him all majesty ascribe, 

And crown him Lord of all. 

that with yonder sacred throng 

We at his feet may fall ! 
We'll join the everlasting song, 

And crown him Lord of all. 

Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood ! 

Over thy wounds now do I prophesy, 

Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips, 

To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue, 

A curse shall light upon the limbs of men ; 

Domestic fury, and fierce civil strife 

Shall cumber all the parts of Italy; 




Key to Expression. 213 

Blood and destruction shall be so in use, 
And dreadful objects so familiar, 
That mothers shall but smile when they behold 
Their infants quarter'd with the hands of war ; 
All pity choked with custom of fell deeds : 
And Caesar's spirit, raging for revenge, 
With Ate by his side, come hot from hell, 
Shall in these confines, with a monarch's voice, 
Cry " Havoc ! " and let slip the dogs of war. 

— Julius Cwsar. 

And this man 
Is now become a god ; and Cassius is 
A wretched creature, and must bend his body, 
If Caesar carelessly but nod on him. 
He had a fever when he was in Spain, 
And when the fit was on him, I did mark 
How he did shake : 'tis true, this god did shake ; 

His coward lips did from their color fly ; 

And that same eye, whose bend doth awe the world, 

Did lose his luster ; I did hear him groan, 

Aye, and that tongue of his, that bade the Komans 

Mark him, and write his speeches in their books, 

Alas, it cried : " Give me some drink, Titinius," 

As a sick girl. — Julius Cwsar. 

Then the earth shook and trembled ; the foundations also 
of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth. 
There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of 
his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it. He bowed 
tlie heavens also, and came down : and darkness was under 
his feet. — Bible. 



214 Key to Expression. 

Behold, at the foot of that precipice drear, 

Spread the gloomy, and purple, and pathless obscure! 

A silence of horror that slept on the ear, 

That the eve more appalled might the horror endure ! 

Salamander, snake, dragon, vast reptiles that dwell 

In the deep, coiled about the grim jaws of their hell. 

Dark crawled, glided dark the unspeakable swarms, 
Clumped together in masses, misshapen and vast : 

Here clung and here bristled the fashionless forms — 
Here the dark moving bulk of the hammer fish passed; 

And with teeth grinning white, and a menacing motion, 

Went the terrible shark, the hyena of ocean. 

There I hung, and the awe gathered icily o'er me, 

So far from the earth where man's help there was none ! 

The one human thing, with the goblins before me — 
Alone — in a loneness so ghastly — alone ! 

Fathoms deep from man's eye in the speechless profound. 

With the death of the main and the monsters around. 

Methought, as I gazed through the darkness, that now 
A hundred-limbed creature caught sight of its prey, 

And darted, God ! from the far-flaming bough 
Of the coral, I swept on the horrible way ; 

And it seized me, the wave with its wrath and its roar, 

It seized me to save — King, the danger is o'er ! 

— Schiller. 

I saw a man 
Deal Death unto his brother. Drop by drop 
The poison was distilled for cursed gold; 
And in the wine cup's ruddy glow sat Death 
Invisible to that poor, trembling slave. 

— Evans Edwards. 



Key to Expression. 215 

When my eves turn to behold for the last time the sun in 
heaven, may they not see him shining on the broken and 
dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union; on Stales 
dissevered, discordant, belligerent; on a land rent with 
civil fends; or drenched, it may ho, in fraternal blood. 
Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the 
gorgeous ensign of the republic, now known and honored 
throughout the earth, still full high advanced; its arms and 
trophies streaming in all their original luster; not a stripe 
erased or polluted; not a single star obscured; bearing for 
its motto no such miserable interrogatory as, " What is all 
this worth? " nor those other words of delusion and folly, 
of " Liberty first, and Union afterwards," but everywhere, 
spread all over in characters of living light, and blazing 
on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over 
the land, and in every wind under the heavens, that other 
sentiment dear to every American heart : " Liberty and 
Union, now and forever, one and inseparable." — Webster. 

Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom 
of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be 
comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit 
the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness : for they shall be filled. Blessed are 
the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the 
pure in heart : for they shall see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be called the 
children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted 
for righteousness' sake : for theirs is the kingdom of heav- 
en. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and perse- 
cute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for 
my sake : for great is your reward in heaven : for so perse- 
cuted they the prophets which were before yon. — Bible. 



•210 Key to Expression. 

How like a fawning publican he looks ! 

I hate him, for he is a Christian; 

But more, for that, in low simplicity, 

He lends out money gratis, and brings down 

The rate of usance here with us in Venice. 

If I can catch him once upon the hip, 

I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him. 

He hates our sacred nation ; and he rails, 

Even there where merchants most do congregate, 

On me, my bargains, and my well-won thrift, 

Which he calls interest. Cursed be my tribe 

If I forgive him. — Merchant of Venice. 

Why, look around, 
And count, if possible, the pampered numbers, 
Who fatten on the State : they are the men 
Who if they find a man too honorable 
To be a fellow-gleaner of the spoils 
When faction's sickle sweeps the public wealth, 
Lift up their angry voices to the crowd, 
And breathe around their pestilential breath, 
Till Virtue's self is tainted by the touch. 

Banish'd ! I thank you for it. It breaks my chain ! 

I held some slack allegiance till this hour; 

But now my sword's my own. Smile on, my lords ; 

I scorn to count what feelings, wither'd hopes, 

Strong provocations, bitter, burning wrongs, 

I have within my heart's hot cells shut up, 

To leave you in your lazy dignities. 

But here I stand and scoff you ! here I fling 

Hatred and full defiance in your face ! 

Your Consul's merciful — for this all thanks 

He dares not touch a hair of Catiline. — Croly. 



Key to Expression. 217 

And I, John, saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming 
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned 
for her husband. And I heard a. great voice out of heaven 
saying, Behold ! the tabernacle of God is with men, and he 
will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God 
himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God 
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall 
be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 
there be any more pain: for the former things are passed 
away. — Bible. 

With one hand he put 
A penny in the urn of poverty, 
And with the other took a shilling out. 
On charitable lists — those trumps which told 
The public ear who had, in secret, done 
The poor a benefit, and half the alms 
They told of took themselves to keep them sounding — 
He blazed his name, more pleased to have it there 
Than in the book of life. — Pollok. 

Ill-guided wretch, 
Thou mayst have seen him at the midnight hour — 
When good men sleep, and in light-winged dreams 
Send up their souls to God — in wasteful hall, 
With vigilance and fasting worn to skin 
And bone, and wrapt in most debasing rags — 
Thou mayst have seen him bending o'er the heaps, 
And holding strange communion with his gold ; 
And as his thievish fancy seems to hear 
The nightman's foot approach, starting alarmed, 
And in his old, decrepit, withered hand, 
That palsy shakes, grasping the yellow earth 
To make it sure. — PolloTc. 



->18 Key to Expression. 

God ! when thou 
Dost scare the world with tempests, set on fire 
The heavens with falling thunderbolts, or fill 
With awe the waters of the firmament, 
The swift, dark whirlwind, that uproots the woods 
And drowns the villages; when, at thy call, 
Uprises the great deep, and throws himself 
Upon the continent, and overwhelms 
Its cities, who forgets not, at the sight 
Of these tremendous tokens of thy power, 
His pride, and lays his strifes and follies by ? 

— Byron. 

A hungry, lean-faced villain, 

A mere anatomy, a mountebank, 

A threadbare juggler, and a " Fortune-teller," 

A needy, hollow-eyed, sharp-looking wretch, 

A living dead man — this pernicious slave, 

Forsooth, took on him as a conjurer, 

And gazed in mine eyes, feeling my pulse, 

And with no face, as 'twere outfacing me, 

Cried out — I was possessed ! — Shakespeare. 

Yes, my friends, Death has been among us ! He has not 
entered the humble cottage of some unknown, ignoble peas- 
ant ; he has knocked audibly at the palace of a nation. 
His footstep has been heard in the halls of State. He has 
cloven down his victim in the midst of the councils of a 
people. He has borne in triumph from among you the 
gravest, wisest, most reverend head. Ah ! he has taken 
him as a trophy who was once chief over many statesmen, 
adorned with virtue and learning and truth; he has borne 
at his chariot wheels a renowned one of the earth. 



Key to Expression. 219 

Hail ! holy Light, offspring of Heaven firstborn, 

Or of the eternal, coeternal beam, 

May I express thee nnblamed ? Since God is light. 

And never put in unapproached light, 

Dwelt from eternity, dwelt then in thee, 

Bright effluence of bright essence increate. 

Or hear'st thou, rather, pure ethereal stream, 

"Whose fountain who shall tell? Before the sun, 

Before the heavens, thou wert, and at the voice 

Of God, as with a mantle, didst invest 

The rising world of waters dark and deep, 

Won from the void and formless infinite. — Milton. 

I loathe ye in my bosom, 

I scorn ye with mine eve, 
And IT1 taunt ye with my latest breath, 

And I'll fight ye till I die ! 
I ne'er will ask ye quarter, 

And I ne'er will be your slave; 
But I'll swim the sea of slaughter 

Till I sink beneath its wave. — G. W. Patten. 

What you do, 

Still betters what is done. When you speak, sweet, 

I'd have you do it ever : when you sing, 

I'd have you buy and sell so ; so give alms ; 

Pray so ; and, for the order of your affairs, 

To sing them, too. When you do dance, I wish you 

A wave o' the sea,, that you might ever do 

Nothing but that ; move still, still so, and own 

No other function : each your doing, 

So singular 'in each particular, 

Crowns what you are doing in the present deeds, 

That all your acts are queens. — The Wintei-'s Tale. 



220 Key to Expression. 

give thanks unto the Lord ; call upon his name ; make 
known his deeds among his people. Sing unto him; sing 
psalms unto him; talk ye of all his wondrous works. 
Glory ye in his holy name; let the heart of them rejoice 
that seek the Lord. Eemember his marvelous works that 
he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his 
mouth. — Bible. 

Go, show your slaves how choleric you are, 
And make your bondmen tremble. Must I budge ? 
Must I observe you ? Must I stand and crouch 
Under your testy humor ? By the gods, 
You shall digest the venom of your spleen, 
Though it do split you ; for from this day forth 
I'll use you for my mirth, yea, for my laughter, 
When you are waspish. — Julius Ccesar. 

I am about to weep ; but, thinking that 

We are a queen (or long have dreamed so), certain 

The daughter of a king, my 'drops of tears 

I'll turn to sparks of fire. — Henry VIII. 

He was a man 
Of an unbounded stomach, ever ranking 
Himself with princes : one that, by suggestion, 
Tied all the kingdom : simony was fair play ; 
His own opinion was his law : I' the presence 
He would say untruths ; and be ever double, 
Both in his words and meaning. He was never 
(But where he meant to ruin) pitiful: 
His promises were, as he then was, mighty; 
But his performance, as he is now, nothing. 
Of his own body he was ill, and gave 
The clergy ill example. — Henry VIII. 



Key to Expression. 221 

Nephew. A merry Christmas, uncle ! God save you ! 

Scrooge. Bah ! humbug ! 

Neph. Christmas a humbug, uncle! You don't mean 
that, I am sure. 

Scrooge. I do. Out upon " Merry Christmas ! " If I 
had my will, every idiot who goes about with " Merry 
Christmas " on his lips should be boiled with his own pud- 
ding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. 
He should ! 

Neph. Uncle ! 

Scrooge. Nephew, keep Christmas in your own way, 
and let me keep it in mine. 

Neph. Keep it ? But you don't keep it ! 

Scrooge. Let me leave it alone, then ! Much good may 
it do you ! Much good it has ever done you ! 

Neph. I am sure I have always thought of Christmas 
as a good time — a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant 
time ; and therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap 
of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe it has done me 
good, and will do me good ; and I say, God bless it ! 

— Dickens. 

Are not you mov'd, when all the sway of earth 
Shakes like a thing unfirm? Cicero! 
I have seen tempests, when the scolding winds 
Have riv'd the knotty oak ; and I have seen 
Th' ambitious ocean swell, and rage, and foam, 
To be exalted with the threatening clouds ; 
But never till to-night, never till now, 
Did I go through a tempest dropping fire. 
Either there is a civil strife in heaven, 
Or else the world, too saucy with the gods, 
Incenses them to send destruction. 

— Julius Cwsar. 



52 Key to Expression. 

How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood, 
When fond recollection presents them to view — 

The orchard, the. meadow, the deep-tangled wildwood, 
And ev'ry loved spot which my infancy knew ! 

— Wordsworth. 

Praise ye the Lord. 

Praise ye the Lord from the heavens : 

Praise him in the heights. 

Praise ye him, all his angels : 

Praise ye him, all his hosts. 

Praise ye him, sun and moon: 

Praise him, all ye stars of light. 

Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, 

And ye waters that be above the heavens. 

Let them praise the name of the Lord : 

For he commanded, and they were created : 

He hath also established them forever and ever: 

He hath made a decree which shall not pass. — Bible. 

There is an old man, 
Who after me hath many a weary step 
Limp'd in pure love; till he be first suffie'd, 
Oppress'd with two great evils, age and hunger, 
I will not touch a hit. — As You Like It. 

I know them, yea, 
And what they weigh, even to the utmost scruple ; 
Scambling, out-facing, fashion-mong'ring boys, 
That lie, and cog, and flout, deprave, and slander, 
Go anticly, and show an outward hideousness, 
And speak half a dozen dangerous words, 
How they might hurt their enemies if they durst ; 
And this is all. — Much Ado About Nothing. 



Key to Expression. 228 

And wast thou fain, poor father. 
To hovel thee with swine, and rogues forlorn, 
In short and musty straw? Alack! Alack! 
"lis wonder, that thy life, and wits, at once 
Had not concluded all. — King Lear. 

0, I could play the woman with mine eyes, 

And braggart with my tongue! But, gentle heaven. 

Cut short all intermission ; front to front, 

Bring thou this fiend of Scotland, and myself; 

Within my sword's length set him ; if he 'scape, 

Heaven forgive him too, — Macbeth. 

'Tis such as you. 
That creep like shadows by him, and do sigh 

At each his needless heavings — such as you 
Nourish the cause of his awakings : I 

Do come with words as med'cinal as true, 
Honest, as either ; to purge him of that humor 
That presses him from sleep. — The Winter's Tale. 

Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice, 

And could of men distinguish her election. 

She had sealed thee for herself : for thou hast been 

As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing; 

A man, that fortune's buffets and rewards 

Hast ta'en with equal thanks ; and bless'd are those 

Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled 

That they are not a pipe for Fortune's finger 

To sound what stop she please: Give me that man 

That is not passion's slave, and I will wear him 

In my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart, 

As I do thee. — Hamlet. 



224 Key to Expression. 

" Curse on him ! " quoth false Sextus; 
" Will not the villain drown? 
But for this stay, ere close of day, 
We should have sacked the town ! " 

" Heaven help him ! " quoth Lars Porsena, 
"And bring him safe to shore ;" 
For such a gallant feat of arms 

Was never seen before." — Macaulay. 

He counsels a divorce : a loss of her, 
That, like a jewel, has hung twenty years 
About his neck, yet never lost her luster ; 
Of her, that loves him with that excellence 
That angels love good men with; even of her 
That, when the greatest stroke of fortune falls, 
Will bless the king. — Henry VIII. 

You souls of geese, 
That bear the shapes of men, how have you run 
From slaves that apes would beat ! Pluto and hell ! 
All hurt behind; backs red, and faces pale 
With flight and agued fear ! Mend, and charge home, 
Or, by fires of heaven, I'll leave the foe, 
And make my wars on you. Look to \. — Coriolanus. 

The worm of conscience still begnaw thy soul ! 
Thy friends suspect for traitors whilst thou liv'st, . 
And take deep traitors for thy dearest friends. 
No sleep close up that deadly eye of thine, 
Unless it be while some tormenting dream 
Affrights thee with a hell of ugly devils. 

— Richard III. 



Key to Expression. 225 

I have five hundred crowns, 
The thrifty hire I sav'd under your father, 
Which I did store to be my foster nurse, 
When service should in my old limbs lie lame, 
And unregarded age in corners thrown; 
Take that : and He that doth the ravens feed 
Yea, providently caters for the sparrows, 
Be comfort to mine age. — As You Like It. 

Follow I must, I cannot go before, 

While Glo'ster bears this base and humble mind. 

Were I a man, a duke, and next of blood, 

I would remove these tedious stumbling-blocks 

And smooth my way upon their headless necks. 

— Henry VI. 

'Tis midnight's holy hour, and silence now 

Is brooding like a gentle spirit o'er 

The still and pulseless world. Hark ! on the winds 

The bell's deep tones are swelling, 'tis the knell 

Of the departed year. — G. D. Prentice. 

thou who dry'st the mourner's tear, 

How dark this world would be, 
If, when deceived and wounded here, 

We could not fly to Thee ! 
The friends who in our sunshine live, 

When winter comes, are flown; 
And he who has but tears to give 

Must weep those tears alone ; 
But thou wilt heal that broken heart, 

Which, like the plants that throw 
Their fragrance from the wounded part, 

Breathes sweetness out of woe. — Moore. 
8 



226 Key to Expression. 

A mingled and thunder-like rushing filled my ears. I 
could see nothing, except when the wind made a chasm 
in the spray, and then tremendous cataracts seemed to en- 
compass me on every side; while, below, a raging, foaming 
gulf of undiscoverable extent lashed the rocks with its hiss- 
ing waves, and swallowed, under a horrible obscurity, the 
smoking floods that were precipitated into its bosom. 

— Howison . 

If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have 
caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my 
morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten 
thereof; if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or 
any poor without covering; if his loins have not blessed 
me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep ; 
if I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when 
I saw my help in the gate: then let mine arm fall from 
my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone. 

— Addison. 

I love the old melodious lays 
Which softly melt the ages through — 
The songs of Spenser's golden days, 
Arcadian Sidney's silvery phrase, 

Sprinkling our noon of time with freshest morning dew. 

— Whittier. 

I charge thee, boy, if e'er thou meet with one of Assynt's 

name, 
Be it upon the mountain side, or yet within the glen, 
Stand he in martial gear alone, or backed by armed men, 
Face him as thou wouldst face the man who wronged thy 

sire's renown ; 
Eemember of what blood thou art, and strike the caitiff 

down. — Aytoun. 



Key to Expression. 227 

A plague "upon them ! wherefore should I curse them? 
Would curses kill as doth the mandrake's groan, 
I would invent as bitter-searching terms, 
As curst, as harsh, and horrible to hear, 
Delivered strongly through my fixed teeth, 
With full as many signs of deadly hate, 
As lean-faced Envy in her loathsome cave : 
My tongue should stumble in mine earnest words ; 
Mine eyes should sparkle like the beaten flint ; 
My hair be fixed on end, as one distract ; 
Ay, every joint should seem to curse and ban : 
And even now my burdened heart would break, 
Should I not curse them. Poison be their drink ! 
Gall, worse than gall, the daintiest that they taste ! 
Their sweetest shade, a grove of cypress trees ! 
Their chief test prospects, murd'ring basilisks ! 
Their softest touch, as smart as lizards' stings ! 
Their music, frightful as the serpent's hiss ; 
And boding screech owls make the concert full ! 

— Henry VI. 

Speak gently of the erring. 0, do not thou forget, 
However darkly stained by sin, he is thy brother yet : 
Heir of the selfsame heritage, child of the selfsame God, 
He hath but stumbled in the path thou hast in weakness 
trod. — F. O. Lee. 

And neither the angels in heaven above, 

Nor the demons under the sea, 
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul 

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee. — E. A. Poe. 



228 Key to Expression. 

" Go ! bring your threatened tortures ! The woes I see 
impending over this fated city will be enough to sweeten 
death, though every nerve should tingle with its agony. I 
die. But mine shall be the triumph; yours, the untold 
desolation. For every drop of blood that falls from my 
veins, your own shall pour in torrents. Woe unto thee, 
Carthage ! I see thy homes and temples all in flames, thy 
citizens in terror, thy women wailing for the dead ! Proud 
city, thou art doomed ! The curse of Jove, a living, last- 
ing curse, is on thee! The hungry waves shall lick the 
golden gates of thy rich palaces, and every brook run crim- 
son to the sea, Eome, with bloody hands, shall sweep thy 
heartstrings, and all thy homes shall howl in wild response 
of anguish to her touch. Proud mistress of the seas, dis- 
robed, uncrowned, and scourged, thus again do I devote 
thee to the infernal gods ! . . . Now bring forth your 
tortures ! Slaves, while ye tear this quivering flesh, re- 
member how often Eegulus has beaten your armies and 
humbled your pride. Cut as he would have carved you ! 
Burn deep as his curse ! " 

Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the 
earth ! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. . . . 
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the 
moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, 
that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that 
thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower 
than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and 
honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works 
of thy hands ; thou hast put all things under his feet. 
. . . Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all 
the earth! — Bible. 



Key to Expression. 229 

Goneril. Sir, I love you more than words can wield the 

matter ; 
Dearer than eyesight, space, and liberty; 
Beyond what can be valued, rich, or rare; 
No less than life, with grace, health, beauty, honor; 
As much as child e'er loved, a father found ; 
A love that makes breath poor and speech unable ; 
Beyond all manner of so much I love you. — King Lear. 

Night, sable goddess, from her ebon throne, 
In rayless majesty now stretches! forth 
Her leaden scepter o'er a slumbering world. 
Silence, how deep ! and darkness, how profound ! 
Nor eye, nor listening ear, an object finds ; 
Creation sleeps. 'Tis as the general pulse 
Of life stood still, and Nature made a pause, 
An awful pause, prophetic of her end. 

I rejoiced not at the destruction of him that hated me, 
nor lifted up myself when evil found him; neither have 1 
suffered my mouth to sin, by wishing a curse to his soul. 
The stranger did not lodge in the street; but I opened my 
doors to the traveler. If my land cry against me, and the 
furrows thereof complain ; if I have eaten the fruits thereof 
with money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their 
life ; let grow thistles instead of wheat, and cockle instead 
of barley. — Addison. 



230 Key to Expression. 

EXAMPLES OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE 
SENTIMENTS. 

liberty ! sound once delightful to every Eoman ear ! 
sacred privilege of Eoman citizenship ! once sacred, now 
trampled on ! Is it come to this ? Shall an inferior mag- 
istrate, a governor, who holds his whole power of the 
Eoman people, in a Eoman province, within sight of Italy, 
bind, scourge, torture, and put to an infamous death a 
Eoman citizen? Shall neither the cries of innocence ex- 
piring in agony, the tears of pitying spectators, the majesty 
of the Eoman Commonwealth, nor the fear of justice of 
his country, restrain the merciless monster, who, in the con- 
fidence of his riches, strikes at the very root of liberty, and 
sets mankind at defiance? And shall this man escape? 
Fathers, it must not be ! It must not be, unless you would 
undermine the very foundations of social safety, strangle 
justice, and call down anarchy, massacre, and ruin on the 
C ommon wealth ! — C ic ero. 



dwellers in the nether gloom, avengers of the slain, 
By this dear blood I cry to you, do right between us twain ; 
And e'en as Appius Claudius hath dealt by me and mine, 
Deal you by Appius Claudius and all the Claudian line. 

— Macaulay. 

■ 
What ! shall one of us, 

That struck the foremost man of all this world, 
But for supporting robbers, shall we now 
Contaminate our ringers with base bribes, 
x\nd sell the mighty space* of our large honors, 
For so much trash as may be grasped thus ? 
I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon, 
Than such a Eoman.- — Julius Ccesar. 



Key to Expression. 231 

I appeal to any white man to say if he ever entered 
Logan's cabin hungry, and he gave him not meat; if ever 
he came cold and naked, and he clothed him not. During 
the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan re- 
mained idle in his cabin, an advocate for peace. Such was 
my love for the whites that my countrymen pointed as 
they passed, and said, " Logan is the friend of the white 
man." I had even thought to live with you, but for the 
injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, last spring, in cold 
blood and unprovoked, murdered all the relatives of Logan, 
not sparing even my women and children. There runs not 
a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. 
This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have 
killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. -For my 
country, I rejoice at the beams of peace: but do not harbor 
a thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt 
fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who 
is there to mourn for Logan ? Not one. 

— Speech of Logan, Chief of the Mingoes (Jefferson). 

This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood ; 

The words expressly are " a pound of flesh," 

Take thou thy bond, take thou thy pound of flesh ; 

But in the cutting of it, if thou dost shed 

One drop of Christian blood, thy lands and goods 

Are, by the laws of Venice', confiscate 

Unto the state of Venice. — Merchant of Venice. 

Thou dost belie him, Percy, 

Thou dost belie him, 

He never did encounter with G-lendower; 

He durst as well have met the devil alone, 

As Owen G-lendower for an enemy. 

— King Richard II. 



232 Key to Expression. 

Seignor iVntonio, many a time, and oft, 
In the Rialto, you have rated me 
About my moneys, and my usances : 
Still have I borne it with a patient shrug ; 
For sufferance is the badge of all our tribe. 
You called me misbeliever, cut throat, dog, 
And spit upon my Jewish gabardine; 
And all for use of that which is mine own. 
Well, then, it now appears you need my help : 
Go to, then ; you come to me, and you say, 

" Shylock, we would have moneys." You say so, 
You, that did void your rheum upon my beard, 
And foot me, as you spurn a stranger cur 
Over your threshold. Moneys is your suit. 
What should I say to you? Should I not say, 

" Hath a dog money ? is it possible 

A cur can lend three thousand ducats ? " or, 
Shall I bend low, and in a bondman's key, 
AVith bated breath and whispering humbleness, 
Say this, 

" Fair sir, you spit on me on Wednesday last, 
You spurned me such a day; another time 
You called me dog ; and for these courtesies, 
I'll lend you thus much moneys ? " 

— Merchant of Venice. 

0. my dread lord, 

I should be guiltier than my guiltiness, 

To think I can live undiscernible, 

When I perceive your grace, like power divine, 

Hath looked upon my passes ; then, good prince, 

No longer session hold upon my shame, 

But let my trial be my own confession ; 

Is all the grace I beg. 



Key to Expression. 233 

1 impeach Warren Hastings, Esquire, of high crimes and 
misdemeanors. 

I impeach him in the name of the Commons of Great 
Britain Parliament assembled, whose parliamentary trust 
he has betrayed. 

I impeach him in the name of all the Commons of Great 
Britain, whose national character he has dishonored. 

I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose 
laws, rights, and liberties he has subverted; whose prop- 
erties he has destroyed; whose country he has laid waste 
and desolate. 

I impeach him in the name and by virtue of those eternal 
laws of justice which he has violated. 

I impeach him in the name of human nature itself, which 
he has cruelly outraged, injured, and oppressed, in both 
sexes, in every age, rank, situation, and condition of life. 

— Burlc. 

Hence ! home, you idle creatures, get you home : 

Is this a holiday ? What ! know you not, 

Being mechanical, you ought not to walk 

Upon a laboring day without the sign 

Of your profession? Speak, what trade art thou? 

T ulius Ccesar. 



Father, whose mighty power 
Shields us through life's short hour, 

To thee we pray : Bless us and keep us free; 
All that is past forgive, 
Teach us henceforth to live, 

That through our country we may honor Thee ; 
And when this mortal life shall cease, 
Take Thou at last our souls to Thine eternal peace. 

— Marion Crawford. 



2 84 Key to Expression. 

To whom replied King Arthur, faint and pale : 
" Thou hast betrayed thy nature and thy name, 
Not rendering true answer, as beseem'd 
Thy fealty, nor like a noble knight; 
For surer sign had followed, either hand, 
Or voice, or else a motion of the mere. 
This is a shameful thing for men to lie. 
Yet now, I charge thee, quickly go again 
As thou art lief and dear, and do the thing 
I bade thee, watch, and lightly bring me word." 

— Tennyson. 

Woe for those who trample o'er a mind ! 

A deathless thing. They know not what they do, 

Or what they deal with ! Man, perchance, may bind 

The flower his step hath bruised ; 

Or light anew the torch he quenches ; 

But for his soul, ! tremble, and beware, 

To lay rude hands upon God's mysteries there ! 



Join with some foe that dares assault our throne ; 
With Eyons or with Mark who hunger still 
For open war. Ay, league thyself with them 
And in that hour the hand that falters now 
In England's cause shall find its force again 
And shake thee to the earth. Till then live on ! 

— Tennyson, 

11 spare my child, my joy, my pride; 
give me back my child ! " she cried : 
" My child ! my child ! " with sobs and tears, 
She shrieked upon his callous ears. 

— Machey. 



Key to Expression. 235 

An opinion has long prevailed, Fathers, that, in public 
prosecutions, men of wealth, however! clearly convicted, are 
always safe. This opinion, so injurious to your order, so 
detrimental to the state, it is now in your power to refute. 
A man is on trial before you who is rich, and who hopes his 
riches will compass his acquittal, but whose life and actions 
are his sufficient condemnation in the eyes of all candid 
men. I speak of Caius Verres, and if he now receive not 
the sentence his crimes deserve, it shall not be through the 
lack of a criminal or a prosecutor, but through the failure 
of the ministers of justice to do their duty. — Cicero. 

To beguile the time 
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, your 

hand, 
Your tongue; look like the innocent flower, 
But be the serpent under it. — Macbeth. 

Worcester ! get thee gone; for I do see 

Danger and disobedience in thine eye : 

sir, your presence is too bold and peremptory, 

And majesty might never yet endure 

The moody frontier of a servant's brow ; 

You have good leave to leave us ; when we need 

Your use and counsel, we shall send for you. 

— Shakespeare. 

You're invited to the garden ; there's a good time there at 

seven, 
And a place beside the apple tree has been reserved for you. 
There'll be matings there, and marriages of every flower 

and blossom; 
Cross the brook behind the arbor, and come early if you 

can. —Byers. 



236 Key to Expression. 

I ask now, Verres, what have you to advance against 
these charges ? Art thou not the tyrant praetor, who, at no 
greater distance than Sicily, within sight of the Italian 
coast, dared to put to an infamous death, on the cross, that 
ill-fated and innocent citizen, Publius G-avius Casanus? 
And what was his offense? He had declared his intention 
of appealing to the justice of his country against your 
brutal persecutions ! For this, when about to embark for 
home, he was seized, brought before you, charged with 
being a spy, scourged and tortured. In vain did he ex- 
claim : " I am a Roman citizen ! I have served under 
Lucius Pretius, who is now at Panormus, and who will 
attest my innocence ! " Deaf to all remonstrance, re- 
morseless, thirsting for innocent blood, you ordered the 
savage punishment to be afflicted ! While the sacred 
words, " I am a Roman citizen ! " were on his lips — words 
which, in the remotest regions, are a passport to protection 
— you ordered him to death, to a death upon the cross. 

— Cicero. 

Is there for honest poverty 

Wha hangs his head, and a' that ? 
The coward slave, we pass him by; 

And dare be poor for a' that. 
For a' that, and a' that, 

Our toil's obscure, and a' that; 
The rank is but the guinea's stamp — 

The man's the gowd for a' that. — Burns. 

Henceforth let no man trust the first false step 
To guilt. It hangs upon a precipice, 
Whose deep descent in fast perdition ends, 
How far am I plunged down, beyond all thought, 
Which I this evening framed ! 



Key to Expression. 237 

He was my friend, faithful and just to me; 

But Brutus says he was ambitious ; 

And Brutus is an honorable man. 

He hath brought many captives home to Rome, 

Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill : 

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? 

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept : 

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff ! 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious ; 

x\nd Brutus is an honorable man ! 

You all did see, that, on the Lupercal, 

I thrice presented him a kingly crown, 

Which he did thrice refuse : was this ambition ? 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; 

And, sure, he is an honorable man ! — Julius Ccesar. 

Whither shall I turn ? wretch that I am ! To what place 
shall I betake myself ? Shall I go to the Capitol ? Alas ! 
it is stained with my brother's blood ! Or shall I return to 
my home? There I behold my mother weeping, plunged 
in misery and despair. 

Friends, Eomans, countrymen ! lend me your ears ; 

I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. 

The evil that men do lives after them ; 

The good is oft interred with their bones : 

So let it be with Caesar ! The noble Brutus 

Hath told you Caesar was ambitious : 

If it were so, it was a grievous fault ; 

And grievously hath Caesar answered it ! 

Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest — 

For Brutus is an honorable man ! 

So are they all ! all honorable men — 

Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral. — Julius Cwsar. 



238 Key to Expression. 

Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for 
if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done 
in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in 
sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more 
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than 
for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto 
heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty 
works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sod- 
om, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto 
you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom 
in the day of judgment, than for thee. — Bible. 

Then bowing down his head, 
King Kobert crossed both hands upon his breast, 
And meekly answered him : " Thou knowest best ; 
My sins as scarlet are ; let me go hence, 
And in some cloister's school of penitence, 
Across those stones that pave the way to heaven, 
Walk barefoot till my guilty soul be shriven. 

— Longfellow. 

When we hear the description of the paroxysm fever 
and delirium into which despair had thrown the natives, 
when on the banks of the polluted Ganges, panting for 
breath, they tore more widely open the Jips of their gaping 
wounds, to accelerate their dissolution, and, while their 
blood was issuing, presented their ghastly eyes to heaven, 
breathing their last fervent prayer, that the dry earth 
might not be suffered to drink their blood, but that it 
might rise to the throne of God, and rouse the eternal 
Providence to avenge the wrongs of their country, will it 
be said that this was brought about by the incantations of 
these Begums in their secluded Zenana ! 

— -Impeachment of Warren Hastings {Sheridan). 



Key to Expression. 239 

It is too late to die ! 

Ay, would Death's marble finger had been laid 

On those sweet lips when first they hallowed mine : 

For locked in Death's white arms Love lies secure, 

In thoughtless sleep that knows no dream of change. 

'Tis Life, not Death, that is Love's sepulcher ; 

Where each day tells of passionate hearts grown strange, 

And perjured vows chime with the answering bell 

That tolls Love's funeral. — Tennyson. 

Priuli. My daughter! 

Bclvidera. Yes, your daughter, by a mother 

Virtuous and noble, faithful to your honor, 

Obedient to your will, kind to your wishes, 

Dear to your arms. By all the joy she gave you 

When in her blooming years she was your treasure, 

Look kindly on me : in my face behold 

The lineaments of hers ye have kissed so often, 

Pleading the cause of her poor lost child. 

— Venice Preserved. 

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye 
pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have 
omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, 
and faith; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave 
the other undone. Ye blind guides, Avhich strain at a 
gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and 
Pharisees, hypocrites ! . . . for ye are like unto whited 
sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but 
are within full of dead men's bones, and of all unclean- 
ness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto 
men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 
. . . Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers ! how can ye 
escape the damnation of hell? — Bible. 



i ; 40 Key to Expression. 

Romans, countrymen, and lovers ! hear me for my cause ; 
and be silent, that you may hear. Believe me for mine 
honor; and have respect to mine honor, that you may be- 
lieve. Censure me in your wisdom; and awake your 
senses, that you may the better judge. If there be any in 
this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar's, to him I say that 
Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than his. If, then, that 
friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my 
answer : Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome 
more. Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all 
slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all freemen? 
As Caesar loved me, I weep for him ; as he was fortunate, I 
rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him; but, as he 
was ambitious, I slew him. There are tears for his love, 
joy for his fortune, honor for his valor, and death for his 
ambition. — Julius Cwsar. 

men with sisters dear ! 

men with mothers and wives ! 
It is not linen you're wearing out, 

But human creature's lives ! 
Stitch — stitch — stitch, 

In poverty, hunger, and dirt, 
Sewing at once, with a double thread, 

A shroud as well as a shirt ! — Hood. 

Run, John ! run, John ! there's another dun, John ; 
If it's Prodger, bid him call to-morrow week at one, John ; 
If he says he saw me at the window, as he knocked, John, 
Make a face, and shake your head, and tell him you are 

shocked, John; 
Take your pocket handkerchief, and put it to your eye, 

John; 
Say your master's not the man to bid you tell a lie, John. 



Key to Expression. 241 

Come, you spirits 
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here ; 
And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top full 
Of direst cruelty ! make thick my blood, 
Stop np the access and passage to remorse; 
That no compunctious visitings of nature 
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between 
The effect and it ! . . . 

Come, thick night, 
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, 
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, 
Nor Heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, 
To cry : " Hold, hold ! " —Macbeth. 

0, Cromwell, Cromwell, 
Had I but served my God with half the zeal 
I served my king, he would not in mine age 
Have left me naked to mine enemies. 

—Henry VIII. 

Enid, I have used you worse than that dead man ; 
Done you more wrong ; we both have undergone 
That trouble which has left me thrice your own : 
Henceforth I will rather die than doubt. 

And here I lay this penance on myself, 

Not, tho ? mine own ears heard you yester morn — 

You thought me sleeping, but I heard you say, 

I heard you say that you were no true wife : 

I swear I will not ask your meaning in it ; 

I do not believe yourself against yourself, 

And will henceforth rather die than doubt. 

— Tennyson. 



242 Key to Expression. 

Passing over the shameful irregularities of his youth, 
what does the praetorship of Verres exhibit but one con- 
tinued scene of villainies? The public treasure squan- 
dered, a consul stripped and betrayed, an army deserted 
and reduced to want, a province robbed, the civil and reli- 
gious rights of a people trampled upon ! But his praetor- 
ship in Sicily has crowned his career of wickedness and 
completed the lasting monument of his infamy. His de- 
cisions have violated all law, all precedent, all right. His 
extortions from the industrious poor have been beyond 
computation. Our most faithful allies have been treated 
as enemies. Eoman citizens have, like slaves, been put to 
death with tortures. Men the most worthy have been 
condemned and banished without a hearing, while the most 
atrocious criminals have, with money, purchased exemp- 
tion from the punishment due to their guilt. — Cicero. 

i 

Let me be branded for the public scorn, 

Turned forth, and driven to wander like a vagabond, 

Be friendless and forsaken., seek my bread 

Upon the barren wild and desolate waste, 

Feed on my sighs and drink my falling tears, 

Ere I consent to teach my lips injustice, 

Or wrong the orphan who has none to save him. 

r ane Shore. 



Consummate Horror ! guilt beyond a name ! 
Dare not my soul repent. In thee, repentance 
Were second guilt, and 'twere blaspheming heaven 
To hope for mercy. My pain can only cease 
When gods want power to punish. Ha ! the dawn ! 
Eise never more, sun ! let night prevail. 
Eternal darkness close the world's wide scene ; 
And hide me from myself. 



Key to Expression. 243 

Have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to 
his supplication, Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry 
and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee 
this day : that thine eyes may be opened toward this house 
night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast 
said, My name shall be there. . . . And hearken thou 
to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel. 
when they shall pray toward this place; yea, hear thou in 
heaven thy dwelling place : and when thou nearest, forgive. 

—Bible. 

Seest thou the man ! 
A serpent with an angel's voice ! a grave 
With flowers bestrewed ! and yet f ew were deceived, 
His virtue, being overdone, his face 
Too grave, his prayers too long, his charities 
Too pompously attended, and his speech 
Lauded too frequently, and out of time, 
With serious phraseology, were rents 
That in his garments opened in spite of him, 
Thro' which the well-accustomed eye could see 
The rottenness of his heart. — Pollok. 

0, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven ! 

It hath the primal eldest curse upon't — 

A brother's murder. Pray, alas ! I cannot, 

Though inclination be as sharp as 'twill; 

My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent, 

And like a man to double business bound, 

I stand and pause where I shall first begin, 

And both neglect. What if this cursed hand 

Were thicker than itself with brother's blood, 

Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens 

To wash it white as snow ? — Hamlet. 



244 Key to Expression. 

Good Hubert, Hubert, Hubert, throw thine eye 

On yon yonng boy : I'll tell thee what, my friend, 

He is a very serpent in my way ; 

And wheresoe'er this foot of mine doth tread 

He lies before me. Host thou understand me? 

Thou art his keeper. 

Enough. I could be merry now. Hubert, I love thee. 

Well, I'll not say what I intend for thee : 

Remember. — King John. 

In the course of all this proceeding your lordships will 
not fail to observe he is never corrupt, but he is cruel; he 
never dines with comfort, but where he is sure to create a 
famine. He never robs from the loose superfluity of great- 
ness; he devours the fallen, the indigent, the necessitous. 
His exhortation is not like the generous rapacity of the 
princely eagle who snatches away the living, struggling 
prey; he is a vulture who feeds upon the prostrate, the dy- 
ing, and the dead. As his cruelty is more shocking than 
his corruption, so his hypocrisy has something more fright- 
ful than his cruelty. For whilst his bloody and rapacious 
hand signs proscriptions and sweeps away the food of the 
widow and the orphan, his eyes overflow with tears, and he 
converts the healing balm that bleeds from wounded hu- 
manity into a rancorous and deadly poison to the race of 
man. — BurTce. 

Hast thou not spoke like thunder on my side ? 
.Been sworn my soldier, bidding me depend 
Upon thy stars, thy fortune, and thy strength ? 
And dost thou now fall over to my foes ? 
Thou wear a lion's hide ! doff it for shame, 
And hang a calfskin on those recreant limbs. 

— King John. 



Key to Expression. 245 

Forgive me my foul murder ! 

That cannot bej since I am still possessed 

Of those eifects for which I did the murder — 

My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen. 

May one be pardoned and retain the offense ? 

In the corrupted currents of this world 

Offense's gilded hand may shove by justice; 

And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself 

Buys out the law; but it is not so above. — Hamlet. 

0, for a tongue to curse the slave, 

Whose treason, like a deadly blight, 

Comes o'er the councils of the brave, 

And blasts them in their hour of might ! 

May life's unblessed cup for him 

Be drugged with treacheries to the brim — 

With hopes that but allure to fly, 

With joys that vanish while he sips, 

Like Dead Sea fruits that tempt the eye, 

But turn to ashes on the lips. — Scott. 

But when he came to himself, he said, How many hired 
servants of my father's have bread enouerh and to spare, and 
I perish here with hunger ! I will arise and go to my f a^ 
ther, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against 
heaven, and in thy sight : I am no more worthy to be called 
thy son ; make me as one of thy hired servants. — Bible. 

I little thought, when first this rein 
I slacked upon the banks of Seine, 
That Highland eagle e'er should feed 
On thy fleet limbs, my matchless steed ! 
Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day, 
That cost thy life, my gallant gray ! — Scott. 



246 Key to Expression. 

Brutus. You have done that you should be sorry for. 

There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats ; 

For I am armed so strong in honesty 

That they pass by me as the idle wind, 

Which T. respect not. I did send to you 

For certain sums of gold, which you denied me; 

For I can raise no money by vile means ; 

By heaven, I had rather coin my heart, 

And drop my blood for drachmas, than to wring 

From the hard hands of peasants their vile trash 

By any indirection. 

I did send 
To you for gold to pay my legions, 
Which you denied me. Was that done like Cassius ? 
Should I have answered Caius Cassius so? 
When Marcus Brutus grows so covetous, 
To lock such rascal counters from his friends, 
Be ready, gods, with all your thunderbolts ; 
Dash him to pieces ! — Julius Ccesar. 

Let mischief multiply ! let every hour 

Of my loathed life yield me increase of horror ! 

0, let the sun to these unhappy eyes 

Ne'er shine again, but be eclipsed forever ! 

May everything I look on seem a prodigy, 

To fill my soul with terror, till I quite 

Forget I ever had humanity, 

And grow a curser of the works of nature ! 

I have been to blame — to blame ! I have killed my son ! 
I have killed him : but I loved him — my dear son ! 
May God forgive me ! I have been to blame. 

— Tennyson. 



Key to Expression. 247 

If thou wouldst boast 
Of this new sway a woman's wile hath won, 
Go tell the world thy heart hath slain a heart 
That once had been a king's. Yet that's not all : 
Thou, too, hath been a queen whose soul shone clear, 
A star for all men's worship, and a lamp 
Set high in heaven, whereby all hearts 
Should steer their course toward God : then 'tis not I 
Whose life lies broken here, for at my fall 
A shattered kingdom bleeds. —Tennyson. 

The right honorable gentleman hath called me " an un- 
impeached traitor." I ask, why not " traitor," unqualified 
by any epithet? I will tell him; it was because he durst 
not ! It was the act of a coward, who raises his arm to 
strike, but has not courage to give the blow! I will not 
call him " villain, " because it would be unparliamentary, 
and he is a privy councilor ; I will not call him " fool, " be- 
cause he happens to be Chancellor of the Exchequer; but I 
say he is one who has abused the privilege of the Parliament 
and freedom of debate by the uttering of language winch, 
if spoken out of the House, I would answer only with a 
blow. — H. Grattan, 

Thou slave, thou wretch, thou coward, 
Thou little valiant, great in villainy ! 
Thou ever strong upon the stronger side ! 
Thou fortune's champion, that dost never fight 
But when her humorous ladyship is by 
To teach thee safety ; thou art per jur'd, too, 
And sooth'st up greatness. What a fool art thou, 
A ramping fool, to brag, and stamp, and swear 
Upon my party ! Thou cold-blooded slave ! 

— Shakespeare. 



243 Key to Expression. 

Octavius, I have seen more days than you; 

And though we lay these honors on this man 

To ease ourselves of divers slanderous loads, 

He shall but bear them as the ass bears gold — 

To groan and sweat under the business, 

Either led or driven, as we point the way ; 

And having brought our treasure where we will, 

Then take we down his load, and turn him off. 

Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears, 

And graze in commons. — Julius Ccesar. 

What ! are men mad ? Hath nature given them eyes 

To see this vaulted arch, and the rich crop 

Of sea and land, which can distinguish 'twixt 

The fiery orbs above, and the twinn'd stones 

Upon the unnumber'd beach ; and can we not 

Partition make, with spectacles so precious, 

'Twixt fair and foul ? — Cymbeline. 

If it be aught toward the general good, 
Set honor in one eye, and death i' the other, 
And I will look on death indifferently : 
For, let the gods so speed me, as I love 
The name of honor more than I fear death. 

— Julius Cwsar. 

There is a tide in the affairs of men, 

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune ; 

Omitted, all the voyage of their life 

Is bound in shallows and in miseries. 

On such a full sea are we now afloat ; 

And we must take the current when it serves, 

Or lose our ventures. — Julius Cwsar. 



Key w Expression. 



249 



It is a great sin to swear unto a sin, 
But greater sin to keep a sinful oath. 
Who can be bound by any solemn vow 
To do a murderous deed, to rob a man, 
To 'reave the orphan of his patrimony, 
To wrong the widow from her customed right ; 
And have no other reason for this wrong, 
But that he was bound by a solemn oath ? 

— Henry VI. 

0, serpent heart, hid with a flowering face ! 
Did ever dragon keep so fair a, cave? 
Beautiful tyrant ! fiend angelical ! 
Dove-feather'd raven ! wolfish-ravening lamb ! 
Despised substance of divinest show ! 
Just opposite to what thou justly seem'st, 
A damned saint, an honorable villain ! 
0, nature ! what had'st thou to do in hell, 
When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend 
In mortal paradise of such sweet flesh? 
Was ever book, containing such vile matter, 
So fairly bound? 0, that deceit should dwell 
In such a gorgeous palace! — Shakespeare. 



If I do not put on a sober habit, 

Talk with respect, and swear but now and then, 

Wear prayer books in my pocket, look demurely ; 

Nay, more, while grace is saying, hide mine eyes 

Thus with my hat, and sigh, and say, Amen; 

Use all the observance of civility, 

Like one well studied in a sad ostent 

To please his grandam, never trust me more. 

— Shakespeare. 



250 Key to Expression. 

In following him, I follow but myself; 
Heaven is my judge, not I for love? or duty, 
But seeming so, for my peculiar end : 
For when my outward action doth demonstrate 
The native act and figure of my heart 
Tn compliment extern, 'tis not long after, 
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve, 
For daws to peck it. I am not what I am. 

— Othello. 

The purest treasure mortal times afford 

Is spotless reputation; that away, 

Men are but gilded loam or painted clay. 

A jewel in a ten-times barrM-np chest 

Is a bold spirit in a loyal breast. 

Mine honor is my life ; both grow in one ; 

Take honor from me, and my life is done. 

— Richard II. 

'Tis the mind that makes the body rich; 

And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds, 

So honor peereth in the meanest habit. 

What, is the jay more precious than the lark, 

Because his feathers are more beautiful? 

Or is the adder better than the eel, 

Because his painted skin contents the eye? 

— Taming of the Shrew. 

By Jove ! I am not covetous of gold, 

Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost; 

It yearns me not if men my garments wear ; 

Such outward things dwell not in my desires ; 

But, if it be a sin to covet honor, 

I am the most offending soul alive, — Henry V. 



Key to Expression. 251 

Though all the world should crack, their duty to you, 

And throw it from their soul ; though perils did 

Abound, as thick as the thought could make 'em, and 

Appear in forms more horrid ; yet my duty, 

As doth a rock against the chiding flood, 

Should the approach of this wild river break, 

And stand unshaken yours. — Henry VIII. 

Tut, I can counterfeit the deep tragedian ; 
Speak, and look back, and pry on every side, 
Tremble and start at wagging of a straw, 
Intending deep suspicion: ghastly looks 
Are at my service, like enforced smiles ; 
And both are ready in their offices, 
At any time, to grace my stratagems. 

— Richard III. 

And thus I clothe my naked villainy 

With old odd ends, stol'n forth of holy writ ; 

And seem a saint when most I play the devil. 

— Richard III. 

Though I do hate him as I do hell pains, 
Yet, for necessity of present life, 
I must show out a flag and sign of love, 
Which is indeed but sign. — Othello. 

Why, I can smile, and murder while I smile; 
And cry content to that which grieves my heart ; 
And wet my cheeks with artificial tears, 
And frame my face to all occasions. — Henry VI. 



252 Key to Expression. 

EXAMPLES OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE 
INTELLECT. 

Mr. President, when the mariner has been tossed for 
many days in thick weather and on an unknown sea, he 
naturally avails himself of the first pause of the storm, 
the earliest glance of the sun, to take latitude, and ascer- 
tain how far the elements have driven him from his true 
course. Let us imitate this prudence, and before we float 
farther on the waves of this debate, refer to the point from 
which we departed, that we may at least be able to conjec- 
ture where we are now. I ask for the reading of the reso- 
lution before the Senate. — Webster. 

He who ascends to the mountain tops shall find 

Their loftiest peaks most wrapt in clouds and snow; 
He who surpasses or subdues mankind 

Must look down on the hate of those below. 

Tho' far above the sun of glory glow, 
And far beneath the earth and ocean spread, 

Bound him are icy rocks, and loudly blow 
Contending tempests on his naked head. — Byron. 

Where is the way where light dwelleth? 

And as for darkness, where is the place thereof, 

That thou shouldst take it to the bound thereof, 

And that thou shouldst know the paths to the house 

thereof, 
Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born? 
Or because the number of thy days is great ? — Bible. 

Europe was one great battlefield, where the weak strug- 
gled for freedom and the strong for dominion. The king 
was without power, and the nobles without principle. Thoy 
were tyrants at home, and robbers abroad. 



Key to Expression. 253 

Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean — roll ! 

Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ; 
Man marks the earth with ruin — his control 

Stops with the shore ; upon the watery plain 

The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain 
A shadow of man's ravage, save his own, 

When, for a, moment, like a drop of rain, 
He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan, 
Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown. 

— Byron. 

My father's spirit in arms ! all is not well ; 
I doubt some foul play: would the night were come! 
Till then sit still, my soul: foul deeds will rise, 
Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes. 

— Hamlet. 

How often, 0, how often, 

In the days that had gone by, 
I had stood on that bridge at midnight 

And gazed on that wave and sky. 

— Longfellow. 



Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form 
Glasses itself in tempests; in all time, 

Calm or convulsed — in breeze, or gale, or storm, 
Icing the pole, or on the torrid clime 
Dark-heaving; boundless, endless, and sublime, 

The image of Eternity — the throne 

Of the invisible ! even from out thy slime 

The monsters of the deep are made ; each zone 

Obeys thee ; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone. 

— Byron. 



254 Key to Expression. 

It must be so — Plato, thou reasonest well ! — 

Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, 

This longing after immortality? 

Or whence this secret dread and inward horror 

Of falling into naught ? Why shrinks the soul 

Back on herself, and startles at destruction ? 

'Tis the divinity that stirs within us ; 

'Tis Heaven itself that points out a hereafter, 

And intimates eternity to man. 

Eternity ! — thou pleasing, dreadful thought ! 

Through what variety of untried being, 

Through what new scenes and changes must we pass ! 

The wide, the unbounded prospect lies before me ; 

But shadows, clouds, and darkness rest upon it. 

Here will I hold. If there's a Power above us 

(And that there is, all Nature cries aloud 

Through all her works), he must delight in virtue; 

And that which he delights in must be happy. 

But when ? or where? This world was made for Caesar. 

I'm weary of conjectures — this must end 'em. 

Thus am I doubly armed : my death and life, 
My bane and antidote, are both before me : 
This in a moment brings me to an end ; 
But this informs me I shall never die. 
The soul, secured in her existence, smiles 
At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. 
The stars shall fade away, the sun himself 
Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years ; 
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, 
Unhurt amid the war of elements, 
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds ! 

— Addison. 



Key to Expression. 255 

Is this a dagger which I see before me, 

The handle toward my hand ? Come, let me clutch 

thee — 
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. 
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible 
To feeling as to sight ? or art thou but 
A dagger of the mind, a false creation, 
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? 
I see thee yet, in form as palpable 
As this which now I draw. 

Thou marshal'st me the way that I was going; 

And such an instrument I was to use. 

Mine eyes are made the fools o ? the other senses, 

Or else worth all the rest: I see thee still; 

And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, 

Which Avas not so before. There's no such thing : 

It is the bloody business, which informs 

Thus to mine eyes. — Macbeth. 

By what way is the light parted, 

Which scattereth the east wind upon the earth ? 

Who hath divided a water course for the overflowing of 

waters, 
Or a way for the lightning of thunder; 
To cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is ; 
On the wilderness, wherein there is no man ; 
To satisfy the desolate and waste ground ; 
And to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth ? 

— Bible. 

Ah! my sight grows dim — darkness surrounds me, and 
amid the gloom, tall spectres advance to meet me, and 
trunkless heads fall at mv feet. 



256 Key to Expression. 

artists who work with pencil or pen, 
With chisel or brush, for the praise of men, 
When you fold your hands at the twilight's close, 
And muse in your darkened studios, 
Do you never consider, once for all, 
How that other and deeper night must fall, 
When the earth and things thereof shall be 
Lost, like a dream in eternity? 

When, shrinking and startled, with soul laid bare, 
The creature shall meet the Creator there, 
And learn at the foot of the great white throne 
A truth which should never have been unknown : 
That nothing avails us under the sun, 
In word, or in work, save that which is done 
For the honor and glory of God alone ? 

I cannot hide that some have striven, 
Achieving calm, to whom was given 
The joy that mixes man with heaven. 

Who, rowing hard against the stream, 

Saw distant gates of Eden gleam, 

And did not dream it was a dream. — Tennyson. 

The armaments which thunderstrike the walls 
Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake 

And monarchs tremble in their capitals, 
The oak' leviathans, whose huge ribs make 
Their clay creator the vain title take 

Of lord of thee and arbiter of war — 

These are thy toys, and, as the snowy flake, 

They melt into thy yeast of waves, which mar 

Alike the Armada's pride or spoils of Trafalgar. 

— Byron. 



Key to Expression. 257 

Give thy thoughts no tongue 
Nor any unproportion'd thought his act. 
Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. 
The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, 
Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel ; 
But do not dull thy palm with entertainment 
Of each new-hateh"d, unfledg'd comrade. 

Beware 
Of entrance to a quarrel ; but, being in, 
Bear % that th' opposed may beware of thee. 
Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice : 
Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. 
Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, 
But not expressed in fancy ; rich, not gaudy : 
For the apparel oft proclaims the man. 
Neither a borrower nor a lender be : 
For loan oft loses both itself and friend ; 
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. 
This above all — to thine own self be true ; 
And it must follow, as the night the day, 
Thou canst not then be false to any man. — Hamlet. 

'Tis agreed that in all governments there is an absolute 
and unlimited power, which naturally and originally seems 
to be placed in the whole body wherever the executive part 
of it lies. This holds in the body natural; whether from 
the head, or the heart, or the animal spirits in general, the 
body moves and acts by consent of all its parts. — Swift. 

Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose 
the bands of Orion ? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in 
his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? 
Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven ? canst thou set the 
dominion thereof in the earth? — Bible. 

9 



258 Key to Expression. 

Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, 

Is the immediate jewel o£ their soul : 

Who steals my purse, steals trash ; 'tis something, nothing ; 

'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands ; 

But he that niches from me my good name 

Bobs me of that which not enriches him, 

And makes me poor indeed. — Othello. 

" Say to the Grand Master," replied Eebecca, " that I 
maintain my innocence, and do not yield me as justly con- 
demned, lest I become guilty of my own blood. Say to him 
that I challenge such delay as his forms will permit, to see 
if God, whose opportunity is in man's extremity, will raise 
me up a deliverer ; and when such uttermost space is passed, 
may his holy will be done." — Scott. 

Seer. Loehiel, Lochiel, beware of the day 
When the Lowlands shall meet thee in battle array ! 
For a field of the dead rushes red on my sight, 
And the clans of Culloden are scattered in fight : 
They rally, they bleed, for their kingdom and crown, 
Woe, woe, to the riders that trample them down ! 

— Thomas Campbell. 

Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the 

earth? 
Declare, if thou hast understanding. 
Who determined the measures thereof, if thou knowest? 
Or who stretched the line upon it? 
Whereupon were the foundations thereof fastened? 
Or who laid the corner stone thereof, 
When the morning stars sang together, 
And all the sons of God shouted for joy ? — Bible. 



Key to Expression. 259 

And the knights and the squires that gathered around 
Stood silent, and fixed on the ocean their eyes ; 

They looked on the dismal and savage profound, 
And the peril chilled back every thought of the prize, 

And thrice spake the monarch : " The cup to win, 

Is there never a wight who will venture in? " 

And all as before heard in silence the king, 

Till a youth with an aspect unf earing, but gentle, 

'Mid the tremulous squires, stepped out of the ring, 
Unbuckling his girdle and doffing his mantle; 

And the murmuring crowd, as they parted asunder, 

On the stately boy cast their looks of wonder. 

As he strode to the marge of the summit, and gave 
One glance on the gulf of that merciless main. 

The youth gave his trust to his Maker. Before 
That path through the riven abyss closed again — 

Hark ! a shriek from the crowd rang aloft from the shore. 
And, behold ! he is whirled in the grasp of the main, 

And o'er him the breakers mysteriously rolled, 

And the giant mouth closed o'er the swimmer so bold. 

— Schiller. 

Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition ! 

By that sin fell the angels ; how can man, then, 

The image of his Maker hope to win by it ? 

Love thyself last; cherish those hearts that hate thee. 

Corruption wins not more than honesty ; 

Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace 

To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not : 

Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, 

Thy God's, and truth's ; then, if thou f all'st, Cromwell, 

Thou f all'st a blessed martyr ! — Henry VIII. 



260 Key to Expression. 

Soldiers, you are now within a few steps of the enemy's 
outposts. Our scouts report them as slumbering in par- 
ties around their watch fires and utterly unprepared for our 
approach. A swift and noiseless advance around that pro- 
jecting rock, and we are upon them. We capture them 
without the possibility of resistance. Forward ! 

Above mo are the Alps, 

The palaces of nature, whose vast walls 
Have pinnacled in the clouds their snow scalps 

And throned eternity in icy halls 

Of cold sublimity, where forms and falls 
The avalanche, the thunderbolt of snow — 

All that expands the spirit, yet appalls, 
Gathers around these summits, as to show 
How earth may pierce to heaven, yet leave vain man 

below. 

Hast thou given the horse strength ? 

Hast thou clothed his neck with thunder ? 

Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper ? 

The glory of his nostrils is terrible. 

He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength; 

He goeth to meet the armed men. 

He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted ; 

Neither turneth he back from the sword. 

The quiver rattleth against him, 

The glittering spear and the shield. 

He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage ; 

Neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. 

He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha; 

And he smelleth the battle afar off, 

The thunder of the captains, and the shouting. — Bible. 



Key to Expression. 261 

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, 

Or close the wall up with our English dead ! 

In peace, there's nothing so becomes a man 

As modest stillness and humility : 

But when the blast of war blows in our ears, 

Then imitate the action of the tiger ; 

Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, 

Disguise fair nature with hard-f avor'd rage : 

Then lend the eye a terrible aspect ; 

Let it pry through the portage of the head, 

Like the brass cannon ; let the brow overwhelm it, 

As fearfully, as doth a galled rock. 

O'crhang and jutty his confounded base, 

Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean. 

Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide ; 

Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit 

To his full height. On, on, ye noblest English, 

Whose blood is f et from fathers of war proof ! 

Fathers, that, like so many Alexanders, 

Have in these parts from morn till even fought, 

And sheath'd their swords for lack of argument. 

Be copy now to men of grosser blood, 

And teach them how to war ! '' ■ 

And you, good yoemen, 

Whose limbs were made in England, show us here 

The mettle of your pasture ; let us swear 

That you are worth your breeding ; which I doubt not ; 

For there is none of you so mean and base 

That hath not noble luster in your eyes. 

I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, 

Straining upon the start. The game's afoot: 

Follow your spirite ; and, upon this charge, 

Cry : Orod for Harry, England, and Saint George ! 

— Henry V. 



262 Key to Expression. 

As chief who hears his warder call, 
rt To arms ! the f oemen storm the wall ! " 
The antlered monarch of the waste 
Sprang from his heathery conch in haste, 
But, ere his fleet career he took, 
The dewdrops from his flanks he shook ; 
Like crested leader prond and high, 
Tossed his beamed frontlet to the sky; 
A moment gazed adown the dale, 
A moment snuffed the tainted gale, 
A moment listened to the cry 
That thickened as the chase drew nigh; 
Then, as the headmost foes appeared, 
With one brave bound the copse he cleared, 
And, stretching forward free and far, 
Sought the wild heaths of Uam-Var. — Scott. 

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, 
and a tooth for a tooth ; but I say nnto you, That ye resist 
not evil : but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, 
turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee 
at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak 
also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go 
with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from 
him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 

— Bible. 
If it were done when 'tis done, 
Then 'twere well it were done quickly ; 
If the assassination could trammel up the conse- 
quence and catch with his surcease success ; 
That but this blow 

Might be the be-all and the^nd-all here, 
But here upon this bank and shoal of time, 
We'd jump the life to come. —Macbeth. 



Key to Expression. 263 

What a piece of work is man ! How noble in reason ! 
How infinite in faculty! In form and moving, how ex- 
press and admirable ! In action, how like an angel ! In 
apprehension, how like a god ! The beauty of the world ! 
The paragon of animals ! — Hamlet. 

Let me have men about me that are fat ; 

Sleek-headed men, and such as sleep o' nights : 

Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look : 

He thinks too much : such men are dangerous. 

Would he were fatter ! But I fear him not : 

Set if my name were liable to fear, 

[ do not know the man I should avoid 

So soon as that spare Cassius. , | ,; 

He reads much; ) 

He is a great observer, and he looks 
Quite through the deeds of men ; he loves no plays, 
As thou dost, Antony ; he hears no music ; 
Seldom he smiles ; and smiles in such a sort, 
As if he mock'd himself, and scorn'd his spirit 
That could be mov'd to smile at anything. 
Such men as he be never at heart's ease, 
Whiles they behold a greater than themselves ; 
And therefore are they very dangerous. 

r ulius Ccesar. 



A wandering mass of shapeless flame, 

A pathless comet and a curse, 

The menace of the universe ; 

Still rolling on with innate force, 

Without a sphere, without a course, 

A bright deformity on high, 

The monster of the upper sky. — Martyn, 



264 Key to Expression. 

And I sit and think, when the sunset's gold 

Is flushing river, and hill, and shore ; 
I shall one day stand by the water cold, 

And list for the sound of the boatman's oar ; 
I shall watch for a gleam of the flapping sail, 

I shall hear the boat as it gains the strand; 
I shall pass from sight with the boatman pale 

To the better shore of the spirit land ; 
T shall know the loved who have gone before, 

And joyfully sweet will the meeting be, 
When over the river, the peaceful river, 

The angel of death shall carry me. 

— Nancy Priest Wakefield. 

Be calm in arguing ; for fierceness makes 
Error a fault and truth discourtesy. 
Why should I feel another man's mistakes 
More than his sickness or his poverty ? 
In love I should ; but anger is not love, 
Xor wisdom, either; therefore gently move. 

Stand back, Lord Salisbury ; stand back, I say ! 
By heaven, I think my sword as sharp as yours ! 
I would not have you, lord, forget yourself, 
Nor tempt the danger of my true defense, 
Lest I, by marking of your rage, forget 
Your worth, your greatness, and nobility. 

— King John. 

All in the wild March morning I heard the angels call ; 
It was when the moon was setting, and the dark was over 

all; 
The trees began to whisper, and the wind began to roll, 
And in the wild March morning I heard them call my soul. 

— Tennyson. 



Key to Expression. 265 

The Lord is my shepherd : I shall not want. 

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : 

He leadeth me beside the still waters, 

He restoreth my soul : 

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's 

sake. 
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of 

death, 
I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me ; 
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine 

enemies, 
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of 

my life, 
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. — Bible. 

And I swear, as I thought of her thus, in that hour 
And of how, after all, old things are best, 

That I smelt the smell of that jasmine flower 
Which she used to wear in her breast. 

It smelt so faint, and it smelt so sweet, 
It made me creep, and it made me cold, 

Like the scent that steals from the crumbling sheet, 
Where a mummy is half unrolled. 

And I turned and looked. She was sitting there 
In a dim box over the stage, and drest 

In that muslin dress, w r ith that full, soft hair, 
And that jasmine in her breast. 

My thinking of her, or the music's strain, 
Or something w r hich never will be exprest, 

Had brought her back from the grave again, 
With that jasmine in her breast.. — Meredith. 



266 Key to Expression. 

Where's Harry Blount? Fitz-Eustaee, where? 

Linger ye here, ye hearts of hare ? 

Bedeem my pennon, charge again, 

Cry, " Marmion to the rescue ! " Vain ! 

To Da ere bear my signet ring : 

Tell him his squadrons up to bring. 

Let Stanley charge, with spur of fire. 

With Chester charge and Lancashire, 

Full upon Scotland's central host, 

Or victory and England's lost ! 

Must I bid twice ? hence, varlets, fly ! 

Leave Marmion here alone — to die ! — Scott. 

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love 
thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, 
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to 
them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully 
use you, and persecute you ; that ye may be the children of 
your Father which is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to 
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the 
just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love 
you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the 
same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye 
more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye 
therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is 
perfect. — Bible. 

Men look with evil eye upon the good that is in others, 
and think that their reputation obscures them, and that 
their commendable qualities do stand in their light; and, 
therefore, they do what they can to cast a cloud over them, 
that the bright shining of their virtues may not obscure 
them. — Tillotson. 



Key to Expression. 267 

When now gathered on either side, the hosts plunged to- 
gether in fight ; shield is harshly laid to shield ; spears crash 
on the brazen corselets ; bossy buckler with buckler meets ; 
loud tumult rages over all; groans are mixed with exult- 
ing shouts of men ; the slain and slayer join their cries ; the 
earth is floating around with blood. As when two rushing 
streams from two mountains come roaring down, and throw 
together their rapid waters below, they roar along the gulfy 
vale. So as they mixed in fight, from both armies clamor 
with loud terror rose. — Homer. 

To be, or not to be — that is the question : 
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer 
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, 
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, 
And, by opposing, end them ? To die, to sleep ; 
No more ; and, by a sleep, to say we end 
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks 
That flesh is heir to — 'tis a consummation 
Devoutly to be wished. 

To die, to sleep ; 
To sleep ! perchance to dream — ay, there's the rub ; 
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, 
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, 
Must give us pause : there's the respect 
That makes calamity of so long life. ; 
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, 
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, 
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, 
The insolence of office, and the spurns 
That patient merit of the unworthy takes, 
When he himself might his quietus make 
With a bare bodkin ? 



268 Key to Expression. 

Who would fardels bear, 
To grunt and sweat under a weary life; 
But that the dread of something after death — 
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn 
No traveler returns — puzzles the will, 
And makes us rather bear those ills we have 
Thau fly to others that we know not of ? 
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all : 
And thus the native hue of resolution 
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought ; 
And enterprises of great pith and moment, 
With this regard, their currents turn awry, 
And lose the name of action. — Hamlet. 

Impose upon me whatever hardships you please; give 
me nothing but the bread of sorrow to eat ; take from me 
the friend in whom I had placed my confidence; lay me in 
the cold hut of poverty and on the thorny bed of disease; 
set before me death in all its terrors ; do all this, only let 
me trust in my Savior, and I will fear no evil; I will rise 
superior to my afflictions ; I will rejoice in my tribulation. 

How like a mounting devil in the heart 
Rules the unreigned ambition ! Let it once 
But play the monarch, and its haughty brow 
Glows with a beauty that bewilders thought 
And enthrones peace forever. — N. P. Willis. 

Therefore, for fear of the worst, I pray thee set a deep 
glass of Rhenish wine on the contrary casket; for if the 
devil be within and that temptation be without, I know he 
will choose it. I will do anything. Nerissa, ere I'll be mar- 
ried to a sponge. — Merchant of Venice. 



Key to Expression. 269 

0, where is the knight or the squire so bold 
As to dive to the howling Charybdis below ? 

T cast in the whirlpool a goblet of gold, 
And o'er it already the dark waters flow. 

Whoever to me may the goblet bring 

Shall have for his guerdon that gift of his king. 
And where is the driver so stout to go — 
I ask ye again — to the deep below? — Schiller. 

that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and 
for his wonderful works to the children of men ! . . . They 
that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great 
waters ; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders 
in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy 
wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof. They mount 
up to the heaven , they go down again to the depths ; their 
soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro. and 
stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit's end. 
Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bring- 
eth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a 
calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then they are glad 
because they be quiet: so he bringeth them unto their de- 
sired haven. that men would praise the Lord for his 
goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of 
men ! — Bible. 

The man that hath no music in himself, 
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, 
Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils ; 
The motions of his spirit are dull as night, 
And his affections dark as Erebus : 
Let no such man be trusted. 

— Merchant of Venice, 



270 Key to Expkession. 

0, crested Lochiel ! the peerless in might, 

Whose banners arise on the battlements' height, 

Heaven's fire is around thee to blast and to burn ; 

Eeturn to thy dwelling ! all lonely return ! 

For the blackness of ashes shall mark where it stood. 

And a wild mother scream o'er her famishing brood. ! 

But hark ! through the fast flashing lightning of war, 
What steed to the desert flies frantic and far ? 
"lis thine, Glenullin ! whose bride shall await, 
Like a love-lighted watch fire, all night at the gate. 
A steed comes at morning : no rider is there ; 
But its bridle is red with the sign of despair. 
Weep, Albin ! to death and captivity led ! 
0, weep ! but thy tears cannot number the dead ; 
For a merciless sword on Culloden shall wave — 
Culloden, that reeks with the blood of the brave ! 

— T. Campbell. 

Waiting to strive a happy strife, 
To war with falsehood to the knife, 
And not to lose the good of life — 

Some hidden jfrinciple to move, 

To put together, part and prove, 

And meet the bounds' of hate and love — 

As far as might be to carve out, 
Free space from every human doubt, 
That the whole mind might orb about — 

To search thro' all I felt or saw, 
The springs of life, the depths of awe, 
And reach the law within the law. 

— Tmnyson. 




Key to Expression. 271 

So, as I sat upon Appledore 

Tn the calm of a closing summer day 
And the broken lines of Hampton shore 

In purple mist of cloudland lay, 
The Ei vermouth rocks their story told; 
And waves aglow with sunset gold, 
Eising and breaking in steady chime, 
Beat the rhythm and kept the time. 

— Whittier. 

come, let us sing unto "the Lord : let us make a joyful 
noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his 
presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto 
him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great 
King above all gods. ... worship the Lord in the beauty 
of holiness ; fear before him, all the earth. . . . For he com- 
eth, for he cometh to judge the earth; he shall judge the 
world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. 

—Bible. 

By torch and trumpet fast arrayed, 
Each horseman drew his battle blade, 
And furious every charger neighed, 
To join the dreadful revelry. 

Then shook the hills, with thunder riven ; 
Then rushed the steed, to battle driven ; 
And, louder than the bolts of heaven, 

Far flashed the red artillery. — Campbell. 

Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are 
too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your de- 
votions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE 
UNKNOWN" GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly wor- 
ship, him deelare I unto you. — Bible, 



272 Key to Expression. 

I have seen the silly rounds of business and of pleasure, 
and have done with them all. I have enjoyed all the pleas- 
ures of the world, and consequently know their futility, 
and do not regret their loss. I appraise them at their real 
value, which is, in truth, very low ; whereas, those that have 
not experienced, always overrate them. They always see 
their gay outside, and are dazzled at the glare. 

— Chesterfield. 

Should you see afar off that worth winning, 

Set out on a journey with trust, 
And ne'er heed, though your path at beginning 

Should be among brambles and dust. 
Though it is by footsteps ye do it, 

And hardships may hinder and stay, 
Keep a heart and be sure you go through it, 

For " where there's a will there's a way." 

— Eliza Cook. 

When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion 
of envy dies in me; when I read the epitaphs of the beau- 
tiful, every inordinate desire goes out; when I meet with 
the grief of parents upon a tombstone, my heart melts with 
compassion ; when I see the tomb of the parents themselves, 
I consider the vanity of grieving for those whom we must 
quickly follow ; when I see kings lying by those who deposed 
them, when I consider the rival wits placed side by side or 
the holy men that divided the world with their contests and 
disputes, I reflect with sorrow and astonishment on the 
little competitions of actions and debates of mankind; when 
I read the several dates of the tombs of some that died yes- 
terday and some one hundred years ago, I consider that 
great day when we shall all of us be contemporaries and 
make our appearance together. — Addison. 



Key to Expression. 273 

And it bubbles and seethes and it hisses and roars, 
As when tire is with water commixed and contending, 

And the spray of its wrath to the welkin up soars, 
And flood upon flood hurries on, never ending, 

And, as with the swell of the far thunder boom, 

Rushes roaringly forth from the heart of the gloom. 

— Schiller. 

Tell me, ye winged winds 

That round my pathway roar, 
Do you not know some spot 

Where mortals weep no more — 
Some lone and pleasant dell, 

Some valley in the west, 
Where, free from toil and pain, 

The weary soul may rest ? 
The loud wind softened to a whisper low 
And sighed for pity as it answered, " No ! " 

Tell me, thou deep, 

Whose billows round me play, 
Know'st thou some favored spot, 

Some island far away, 
Where weary man may find 

The bliss for which he sighs, 
Where sorrow never lives 

And friendship never dies ? 
The loud waves, rolling in perpetual flow, 

— Charles Mackay. 

Can storied urn or animated bust 
Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath ? 

Can Honor's voice provoke the silent dust, 
Or Flattery soothe the dull, cold ear of death ? 

— Gray. 



274 Key to Expkession. 

My soul to-day 

Is far away, 

Sailing the Vesuvian Bay ; 

My winged boat, 

A bird afloat, 

Swims round the purple peaks remote. 

I heed not if i 

My rippling skiff 

Float swift or slow from cliff to cliff ; 

With dreamful eyes 

My spirit lies 

Under the walls of paradise. 

Over the rail 

My hand I trail 

Within the shadow of the sail ; 

A joy intense, • 

The cooling sense, > 

Glides down my drowsy indolence. 

No more, no more 

The worldly shore 

Upbraids me with its loud uproar ; 

With dreamful eyes 

My spirit lies 

Under the walls of paradise. — T. B. Read. 

Yet not to thine eternal resting place 

Shalt thou retire alone, nor couldst thou wish 

Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down 

With patriarchs of the infant world, with kings, 

The powerful of the earth, the wise, the good, 

Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past — 

All in one mighty sepulcher. - — Bryant. 



Key to Expression. 275 

" Oho ! " she muttered ; " ye're brave to-day ! " 
But I hear the little waves laugh and say : 

" The broth will be cold that waits at home ; 
For it's one to go, but another to come." 

— Whittier. 

So live that when thy summons comes to join 

The innumerable caravan which moves 

To that mysterious realm where each shall take # 

His chamber in the silent halls of death, 

Thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, 

Scourged to his dungeon ; but, sustained and soothed 

By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave 

Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 

About him and lies down to pleasant dreams. 

— Bryant. 

Alas, poor Yorick ! I knew him well, Horatio — a fellow 
of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. He hath borne 
me on his back a thousand times, and now how abhorred 
in my imagination is this skull ! My gorge rises at it. 
Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how 
oft. Where are your gibes now, your gambols, your songs, 
your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table 
in a roar? Not one now to mock your grinning, quite 
chopf alien. Now get to my lady's chamber and tell her; 
and if she paint an inch thick, yet to this favor will she 
come at last, — Hamlet. 

Eemember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, 
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when 
thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them ; while the sun, 
or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor 
the clouds return after the rain. — Bible. 



276 . Key to Expression. 

I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew 
hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions, fed 
with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject 
to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed 
and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian 
is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, 
do we not laugh? If you poison us", do we not die? And 
if you wrong us, shall we not revenge ? If we are like you 
in the rest, we will resemble you in that. 

— Merchant of Venice. 

Eise, fathers ; rise ! 'Tis Eome demands your help. 

Eis'e and revenge her slaughtered citizens 

Or share their fate. The slain of half her Senate 

Enrich the fields of Thessaly, while we 

Sit here deliberating in cold debates 

If we should sacrifice our lives to honor 

Or wear them out in servitude and chains. 

Eouse up, for shame ! Our brothers of Pharsalia 

Point at their wounds and cry aloud : " To battle ! " 

Was I born for this ? Will the old folks know ? 

I can see them now on the old home place. 
His gait is feeble, his step is slow; 

There's a settled grief in his furrowed face ; 
While she goes wearily groping about 

In a sort of dream, so bent, so sad. 
But this won't do ; I must sing and shout 

And forget myself or else go mad. 

Howe'er it be, it seems to me 

'Tis only noble to be good ; 

Kind hearts are more than coronets, 

And simple faith than Norman blood. 

— Tennyson. 



Key to Expression. 277 

Would you, then, learn to dissipate the band 

Of these huge, threatening difficulties dire 
That in the weak man's way like lions stand, 

His soul appall, and damp his rising fire ? 
Resolve., resolve, and to be men aspire ; 

Exert that noblest privilege, alone 
Here to mankind indulged : control desire ; 

Let godlike Reason from her sovereign throne 
Speak the commanding word, " I will ! " and it is done. 

— Thomson. 

Rouse, ye Romans ! Rouse, ye slaves ! 

Have ye brave sons ? Look in the next fierce brawl 

To see them die. Have ye daughters ? Look 

To see them live, torn from your arms, distained, 

Dishonored ; and if ye dare call for .justice, 

Be answered with the lash. — Mitford. 

I can almost see to the land of light, 

But there's a mist before my eyes. 
The path, I know, stretches out before ; 

But I can't see where it lies, 
For there is a valley that lies between 

And a shadow as dark as night 
That sends up its gloom from a loved one's tomb 

And a dimness on my sight. 

But there's some one stands on the golden sands 

And lifts up the nebulous bars, 
Throwing back the door to the shining shore, 

And there's light beyond the stars ; 
And the flashes bright that fall on my sight 

Seem to scatter the night away ; 
And I know, I know where I shall go 

At the close of some weary day. 



278 Key to Expression. 

I can almost see through to the land of light ; 

But, somehow, something will rise 
From the depths of the soul that I cannot control, 

That keeps dimming and blinding my eyes. 
You may think it is fears, you may say it is tears 

That dims the visual ray ; 
But the soul lies too deep for me to weep, 

And why should I feel dismay ? 

Meanwhile I was thinking of my first love, 
As I had not been thinking of aught for years, 

Till over my eyes there began to move 
Something that felt like tears. 

I thought of the dress she wore last time, 

When we stood 'neath the cypress trees together 

In that lost land, in that soft clime, 
In that crimson evening weather. 

I thought of our little quarrels and strifes 
And the letter that brought me back my ring, 

And it all seemed then, in the waste of life, 

Such a very little thing. — Meredith. 

All that tread 
The globe are but a handful to the tribes 
That slumber in its bosom. Take the wings 
Of morning, pierce the Barcan wilderness, 
Or lose thyself in the continuous woods 
Where rolls the Oregon and hears no sound, 
Save his own dashings ; yet the dead are there, 
And millions in those solitudes, since first 
The flight of years began, have laid them down 
In their last sleep. The dead reign there alone. 

— Bryant. 



Key to Expression. 279 

" Young men, ahoy ! " 

"What is it?" 

" Beware, beware ! The rapids are below you ! 

See how fast you pass that point ! 

Tip with the helm ! Now turn ! Pull hard ! 

Quick, quick, quick ! Pull for your lives ! " 

— Gougli. 

Eevolutions sweep 
O'er earth like troubled visions o'er the breast 
Of dreaming sorrow ; cities rise and sink 
Like bubbles on the water; fiery isles 
Spring blazing from the ocean and go back 
To their mysterious cavern ; mountains rear 
To heaven their bald and blackened cliffs and bow 
Their tall heads to the plain ; 

New empires rise, 

Gathering the strength of hoary centuries, 

Aud rush down like the Alpine avalanche, 

Startling the nations; and the very stars, 

Yon bright and burning blazonry of God, 

Glitter a while in their eternal depths, 

And, like Pleiades, loveliest of their train, 

Shoot from their glorious spheres, pass away 

To darkle in the trackless void. — Prentice. 

The twilight hours, like birds, flew by, 

As lightly and as free; 
Ten thousand stars were in the sky, 

Ten thousand in the sea ; 
For every wave with dimpled cheek 

That leaped upon the air 
Had caught a star in its embrace, 

And held it trembling there. 



280 Key to Expression. 

Now storming fury rose, 

And clamor such as heard in heaven till now 

Was never. Arms in armor clashing, brayed 

Horrible discord, and the maddening wheels 

Of brazen chariots raged. Dire was the noise 

Of conflict. Overhead the dismal hiss 

Of fiery darts in flaming volleys flew, 

And, flying, vaulted either host with fire. 

So under fiery cope together rushed 

Both battles' main, with ruinous assault 

And inextinguishable rage. All heaven 

Eesounded ; and had earth been there, all earth 

Had to her center shook. — Milton. 

'Tis a time 
For memory and for tears. Within the deep, 
Still chambers of the heart a specter dim, 
Whose tones are like the wizard voice of Time, 
Heard from the tomb of ages, points its cold 
And solemn finger to the beautiful 
And holy visions that have passed away 
And left no shadow of their loveliness 
On the dead waste of life. That specter lifts 
The coffin lid of Hope and Joy and Love, 
And, bending mournfully above the pale, 
Sweet forms that slumber there, scatters dead flowers 
O'er what has passed to nothingness. — Prentice. 

Stay, my lord, 

And let your reason with your choler question. 

What 'tis you go about. To climb steep hills 

Eequires slow pace at first. Anger is like 

A full-hot horse, who, being allowed his ways, 

Self -mettle tires him. — Henry VIII. 



Key to Expression. 281 

When T reflect on what I have seen, what I have heard. 
and what I have done, I can hardly persuade myself that 
all that frivolous hurry and bustle and pleasure of the 
world had any reality; but I look upon all that is passing 
as one of those romantic dreams which opium commonly 
occasions, and 1 do by no means desire to repeat the nau- 
seous dose for the sake of the fugitive dream. 

— Chesterfield. 

I shall detain ye no longer in the demonstration of what 
we should not do, but straight conduct ye to the hillside, 
where I will point ye out the right path of a virtuous and 
noble education — laborious, indeed, at the first ascent, but 
else so smooth, so green, so full of goodly prospects and 
melodious sounds on every side that the harp of Orpheus 
was not more charming. — Milton. 

0, a wonderful stream is the river of Time, 

As it runs through the realm of tears, 
With a faultless rhythm and a musical rhyme 
And a boundless sweep and a surge sublime, 
As it blends with the ocean of Years ! 

How the winters are drifting like flakes of snow 

And the summers like buds between, 
And the year in the sheaf, so they come and they go 
On the river's breast, with its ebb and flow, 
As it glides in the shadow and sheen. . 

—B. F. Taylor. 

Love all ; trust a few ; 
Do wrong to none ; be able for thine enemy 
Eather in power than use, and keep thy friend 
Under thy own life's key ; be checked, for silence, 
But never taxed for speech. 

— All' 8 Well That Ends Well 



282 Key to Expression. 

Like autumn's dark storms pouring from two echoing 
hills, toward each other approached the heroes. As two 
dark streams from high rocks meet and war on the plai^, 
loud, rough, and dark in battle meet Lochlin and Innisf ail. 
Chief mixes his strokes with chief and man with man; 
steel sounds on steel and helmets are cleft on high; blood 
bursts and smokes around; strings murmur on the pol- 
ished yew : darts rush along the sky ; spears fall like sparks 
of flame that gild the stormy face of night. — Fingal. 

What judgment shall I dread, doing no wrong ? 
You have among you many a purchased slave, 
Which, like your asses and your dogs and mules, 
You use in abject and in slavish parts, 
Because you bought them. Shall I say to you : 

" Let them be free; marry them to your heirs ? 
Why sweat they under burdens ? Let their beds 
Be made as soft as yours, and let their palates 
Be seasoned with such viands." You will answer : 

" The slaves are ours. " So do I answer you. 

— Merchant of Venice. 

The skies look grimly, 

And threaten present blusters. In my conscience, 
The heavens with that we have in hand are angry, 
And frown upon us. — The Winter's Tale. 

For my mind misgives 
Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars, 
Shall bitterly begin his fearful date 
With this night's revels, and expire the term 
Of a despised life, closed in my breast, 
By some vile forfeit of untimely death. 

—Romeo and Juliet. 



Key to Expression. 283 

Stand ! The ground's your own, my braves ! 
Will ye give it up to slaves ? 
Will ye look for greener graves ? 

Hope ye mercy still ? 
What's the mercy despots feel ? 
Hear it in that battle peal, • 

Read it on your bristling steel, 

Ask it, ye who will. 

Nature, that framed us of four elements, 
Warring within our breasts for regimen, 
Doth teach us all to have aspiring minds ; 
Our souls, whose faculties can comprehend 
The wondrous architecture of the world 
And measure ev'ry wand'ring planet's course, 
Still climbing after knowledge infinite, 
And always moving as the restless spheres, 
Will us to wear ourselves and never rest 
Until we reach the ripest fruit of all, 
That perfect bliss and sole felicity — 
The sweet fruition of a heavenly crown. 

— Marlowe. 

Fill up each hour with what will last ; 

Buy up the moments as they go ; 
The life above, when this is past, 

Is the ripe fruit of life below. — Bonar. 

"Tis a common proof 

That lowliness is young ambition's ladder, 

Whereto the climber upward turns his face ; 

But when he once attains the upmost round, 

He then unto the ladder turns his back, 

Looks in the clouds, scorning the base degrees 

By which he did ascend. — Julius Ccesar. 



284 Key to Expression. 

Truth, crushed to earth, will rise again ; 

The eternal years of God are hers; 
But Error, wounded, writhes with pain, 

And dies among her worshipers. — Bryant. 

When all the sky is draped in black 

And beaten by tempestuous gales, 
Thy struggling bark seems all a rack, 

Then trim again thy tattered sails. 
Thus, my son, be not too proud, 

Nor yet cast down. Judge thou aright. 
When skies are clear, expect the cloud ; 

In darkness wait for coming light. 
Whatever thy fate may be to-day, 
Remember, this, too, will pass away. 

— John G. Saxe. 

Hear you me, Jessica ; 

Lock up my doors ; and when you hear the drum 

And the vile squeaking of the wry-necked fife, 

Clamber not you up to the casement then, 

Nor thrust your head into the public street 

To gaze on Christian fools with varnished faces; 

But stop my house's ears — I mean my casements. 

Let not the sound of shallow foppery enter 

My sober house. — Merchant of Venice. 

Be advised. 

Heat not a furnace for your foes so hot 
That it do singe yourself. We may outrun 
By violent swiftness that which we run at, 
And lose by overrunning. Know you not 
The fire that mounts the liquor till 't run o'er, 
In seeming to augment it, wastes it? Be advised. 

—Henry VIII. 



Key to Expression. 285 

0, Buckingham, beware of yonder dog ; 
Look ! when he fawns, he bites ; and when he bites, 
His venom tooth will rankle to the death ; 
Have naught to do with him ; beware of him ; 
Sin, death, and hell have set their marks on him; 
x\nd all their ministers attend him. 

— Richard III. 

I have an ill-divining soul ; 
Methinks I see thee, now thou art below, 
As one dead in the bottom of the tomb. 
Either my eyesight fails or thou look'st pale. 

— Romeo and Juliet. 

When the mists have rolled in splendor 

From the beauty of the hills, 
And the sunshine, warm and tender, 

Falls in kisses on the rills, 
We may read love's shining letter 

In the rainbow of the spray: 
We shall know each other better 

When the mists have cleared away. 
We shall know as we are known, 
Never more to walk alone, 
In the dawning of the morning, 

When the mists have cleared away. 

Be wise to-day; 'tis madness to defer; 
Next day the fatal precedent will plead ; 
Thus on, till wisdom is pushed out of life. 
Procrastination is the thief of time : 
Year after year it steals, till all are fled, 
And to the mercies of a moment, leaves 
The vast concerns of an eternal scene. 

— Young. 



286 Key to Expression. 

There is some soul of goodness in things evil 
Would men observingly distill it out ; 
For our bad neighbors make us early stirrers, 
Which is both healthful and good husbandry ; 
Besides, they are our outward consciences, 
And preachers to us all; admonishing 
That we should dress us fairly for our end. 
Thus may we gather honey from the weed, 
And make a moral of the devil himself. 

— Henry V. 

I always thought 
It was both impious and unnatural, 
That such immanity and bloody strife 
Should reign among the professors of one faith. 

— Henry VI. 

Let go thy hold, when a great wheel runs down a hill, 
lest it break thy neck with following it; but the great one 
that goes up the hill, let him draw thee after. When a wise 
man gives thee better counsel, give me mine again. 

— King Lear. 

Of man's miraculous mistakes, this bears 

The palm, that all men are about to live 

Forever on the brink of being born. 

All pay themselves the compliment to think 

They one day shall not drivel ; and their pride 

On this reversion takes up ready praise, 

At least their own : their future selves applaud ; 

How excellent that life they ne'er will lead ! 

Time lodged in their own hands is folly's veils; 

That lodged in fate's, to wisdom they consign. 

— Young. 



Key to Expression. 287 

Yet I do fear thy nature ; 
It is too full o' the milk of human kindness 
To catch the nearest way : Thou would'st be great ; 
Art riot without ambition; but without 
The illness should attend it. What thou would'st highly, 
That would'st thou holily ; would'st not play false, 
And yet would'st wrongly win : thou'dst have, great Glamis, 
That which cries, " Thus thou must do, if thou have it ; 
And that which rather thou dost fear to do 
Than wishest should be undone." — Macbeth. 

He liveth long who liveth well ! 

All other life is short and vain ; 
He liveth longest who can tell 

Of living most for heavenly gain. 

He liveth long who liveth well ! 

All else is being flung away ; 
He liveth longest who can tell 

Of true things truly done each day. 

— Bonar. 

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as 
crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the 
Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side 
of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve 
manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and 
the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 
And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God 
and of the Lamb shall be in it ; and his servants shall serve 
him : and they shall see his face. . . . And there shall be no 
night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the 
sun ; for the Lord God giveth them light : and they shall 
reign forever and ever. — Bible. 



288 Key'^o Expression. 

For none return from those quiet shores,- 

Who cross with the boatman, cold and pale; 
We hear the dip of the golden oars, 

And catch a gleam of the snowy sail, 
And lo ! they have passed, from our yearning heart; 

They cross the stream and are gone for aye. 
We may not sunder the veil apart 

That hides from our vision the gates of day ; 
We only know that their barks no more 

May sail with us o'er life's stormy sea; 
Yet somewhere, I know, on the unseen shore, 

They watch, and beckon, and wait for me. 

— N. P. Wakefield. 

0, who can hold a fire in his hand 

By thinking of the frosty Caucasus? 

Or cloy the hungry edge of appetite 

By bare imagination of a feast ? 

Or wallow naked in December's snow 

By thinking on fantastic summer's heat? 

0, no ! the apprehension of the good 

Gives but the greater feeling to the worse: 

Fell sorrow's tooth doth never rankle more, 

Than when it bites, but lanceth not the sore. 

— Richard II. 

I sometimes have thought in my loneliest hours, 
That lie on my heart like the dew on the flowers, 
Of a ramble I took, one bright afternoon, 
When my heart was as light as a blossom in June. 
The green earth was moist with the late-fallen showers, 
The breeze fluttered down and blew open the flowers; 
While a single white cloud floated off in the west, 
On the white wing of peace, to its haven of rest. 



Key to Expression. 289 

i 

In full content, we sometimes nobly rest, 
Unanxious for ourselves; and only wish, 
As duteous sons, our fathers were more wise. 
At thirty, man suspects himself a fool; 
Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan; 
At fifty, chides his infamous delay, 
Pushes his prudent purpose to resolve ; 
In all the magnanimity of thought 
Kesolves ; and re-resolves ; then dies the same. 

— Young. 

Cromwell, I did not think to shed a tear 

In all my miseries ; but thou hast forced me, 

Out of thy honest truth, to play the woman. 

Let's dry our eyes: and thus far hear me, Cromwell; 

And when I am forgotten, as I shall be, 

And sleep in dull, cold marble, where no mention 

Of me more must be heard of, say, I taught thee; 

Say, Wolsey, that once trod the ways of glory, 

And sounded all the depths and shoals of honor, 

Found thee a way, out of his wreck, to rise in ; 

A sure and safe one, though thy master missed it. 

Mark but my fall, and that that ruined me. 

—Henry VIII. 

My lord, we have 
Stood here observing him; some strange commotion 
Is in his brain ; he bites his lip, and starts ; 
Stops on a sudden, looks upon the ground, 
Then lays his finger on his temple ; straight, 
Springs out into fast gait ; then stops again, 
Strikes his breast hard; aud anon, he casts 
His eye against the moon ; in most strange postures 
We have seen him set himself. — Henry VIII. 

10 



290 Key to Expression. 

Who finds the heifer dead and bleeding fresh, 
And sees fast by a butcher with an ax, 
But will suspect 'twas he that made the slaughter ? 
Who finds the partridge in the puttock's nest, 
But may imagine how the bird was dead, 
Although the kite soar with unbloodied beak ? 
Even so suspicious is this tragedy. — Henry VI. 

There's no art 
To find the mind's construction in the face : 
He was a gentleman on whom I built 
An infinite trust. — Macbeth. 

What is a man, 
If his chief good, and market of his time, 
Be but to sleep and feed ? a beast, no more. 
Sure, He that made us with such large discourse, 
Looking before, and after, gave us not 
That capability and godlike reason, 
To rust in us, unused. — Hamlet. 

You, lord Archbishop — 
Whose see is by a civil peace maintained ; 
Whose learning and good letters peace hath tutored ; 
Whose white investments figure innocence, 
The dove and very blessed spirit of peace — 
Wherefore do you so ill translate yourself, 
Out of the speech of peace, that bears such grace, 
Into the harsh and boist'rous tongue of war. 
Turning your books to graves, your ink to blood, 
Your pens to lances ; and your tongue divine 
To a loud trumpet, and a point of war ? 

— Henry IV. 



Key to Expression. 291 

The rebels are in Southwark : Fly, my lord ! 
Jack Cade proclaims himself Lord Mortimer, 
Descended from the Duke of Clarence's house, 
And calls your grace usurper, openly, 
And vows to crown himself in Westminster. 
His army is a ragged multitude 
Of hinds and peasants, rude and merciless : 
Sir Humphrey Stafford, and his brother's death, 
Hath given them heart and courage to proceed : 
All scholars, lawyers, courtiers, gentlemen, 
They call — false caterpillars, and intend their death. 

— Henry VI. 

When to the sessions of sweet silent thought, 
I summon up remembrance of things past, 

I sigh the lack of many a thing I sought, 

And with old woes new wail my dear time's waste; 

Then can I drown an eye (unused to flow) 

For precious friends hid in death's dateless night, 

And weep afresh love's long-since cancelled woe, 
And moan the expense of many a vanished sight. 

Then can I grieve at grievances foregone, 

And heavily from woe to woe tell o'er 
The sad account of fore-bemoaned moan, 

Which I now pay, as if not paid before. 

— Poems, Shakespeare. 

Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime, 

And, departing, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sands of time. 

— Longfellow. 



292 Key to Expression. 

tlear me more plainly. 
I have an equal balance justly weighed, 
What wrongs our arms may do, what wrongs we suffer, 
And find our griefs heavier than our offenses. 
We see which way the stream of time doth run, 
And are enforced from our most quiet sphere 
Bv the rough torrent of occasion : 
And have the summary of all our griefs, 
When time shall serve, to show in articles : 
Which, long ere this, we offered to the king ; 
And might by no suit gain our audience: 
When we are wronged, and would unfold our griefs, 
We are denied access unto his person, 
Even by those men who most have done us wrong. 
The dangers of the days but newly gone, 
(Whose memory is written on the earth 
With yet-appearing blood), and the examples 
Of every minute's instance (present now), 
Have put us in these ill-beseeming arms : 
Not to break peace, or any branch of it : 
But to establish here a peace indeed, 
Concurring both in name and quality. — Henry IV. 

ISTor was Ms name unheard or unadored 

In ancient Greece ; and in Ausonian land 

Men called him Mulciber ; and how he fell 

From heaven they fabled, thrown by angry Jove 

Sheer o'er the crystal battlements : from morn 

To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve, 

A summer's day; and with the setting sun 

Dropped from the zenith like a falling star, 

On Lemnos, the iEgean isle. — Milton. 



Key to Expression. 293 

EXAMPLES OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE WILL. 

I conjure you by that which you profess, 

(Howe'er you came to know it), answer me; 

Though you untie the winds and let them fight 

Against the churches; though the yeasty waves 

Confound and swallow navigation up ; 

Though bladed corn be lodged, and trees blown down; 

Though castles topple on their warders' heads ; 

Though palaces and pyramids do slope 

Their heads to their foundations ; though the treasures 

Of nature's germens tumble altogether, 

Even till destruction sicken; answer me 

To what I ask you. — Macbeth. 

I have possessed your grace of what I purpose ; 
And. by our holy Sabbath have I sworn 
To have the due and forfeit of my bond : 
If you deny it, let the danger light 
Upon your charter and your city's freedom. 
You'll ask me, why I rather choose to have 
A weight of carrion flesh than to receive 
Three thousand ducats : I'll not answer that : 
But say, it is my humor : is it answered ? 

— Merchant of Venice. 

" Make way for liberty ! " he cried, 

Then ran with arms extended wide, 

As if his dearest friend to clasp; 

Ten spears he swept within his grasp. 
" Make way for liberty ! " he cried, 

Their keen points crossed from side to side; 

He bowed among them like a tree, 

And thus made way for liberty. 

— James Montgomery. 



294 Key to Expression. 

What if my house be troubled with a rat 

And I be pleased to give three thousand ducats 

To have it baned ? What, are you answered yet ? 

Some men there are that love not a gaping pig ; 

Some that are mad if they behold a cat ; 

Now, for your answer: 

As there is no firm reason to be rendered 

Why he cannot abide a gaping pig ; 

Why he a harmless necessary cat ; 

So can I give no reason, nor I will not, 

More than a lodged hate and a certain loathing 

I bear Antonio, that I follow thus 

A losing suit against him. Are you answered? 

— Merchant of Venice. 

Whence and what art thou, execrable shape, 
That darest, tho' grim and terrible, advance 
Thy miscreated front athwart my way 
To yonder gates ? Through them I mean to pass, 
That be assured, without leave asked of thee : 
Eetire, or taste thy folly; and learn by proof, 
Hellborn, not to contend with spirits of heaven. 

To whom the goblin, full of wrath, replied : 

And reckonest thou thyself with spirits of heaven, 
Helldoomed, and breathest defiance here and scorn, 
Where I reign king, and, to enrage thee more, 
Thy king and lord : Back to thy punishment, 
False fugitive, and to thy speed add wings ; 
Lest with a whip of scorpions I pursue 
Thy lingering, or with one stroke of this dart 
Strange horror seize thee, and pangs unfelt before. 

— Milton. 



Key to Expression. 295 

1 do not fear to approach the omnipotent Judge, to an- 
swer for the conduct of my whole life; and am I to be ap- 
palled and falsified by a mere remnant of mortality here ? 
By you. too. who, if it were possible to collect all the in- 
nocent blood that you have shed in your unhallowed min- 
istry in one great reservoir, your lordship might swim in it. 

— Robert Emmet. 

" Tempter, " said Rebecca, " begone ! not in this last ex- 
tremity canst thou move me one hair's breadth from my 
resting place. Surrounded as I am by foes, I hold thee as 
my worst and most deadly enemy — avoid thee, in the name 
of God ! " —Scott. 

What man dare, I dare ; 

Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, 

The armed rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger; 

Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves 

Shall never tremble; or be alive again, 

And dare me to the desert with thy sword ; 

If trembling I exhibit, then protest me 

The baby of a girl ! — Macbeth. 

Here I stand for impeachment or trial ! I dare accusa- 
tion ! I defy the honorable gentleman ! I defy the gov- 
ernment ! I defy their whole phalanx ! Let them come 
forth ! 1 tell the ministers I shall neither give them quar- 
ter nor take it ! I am here to lay the shattered remains of 
my constitution on the floor of this House, in defense of the 
liberties of my country. — Henry Grattan. 

Before my body 
I throw my warlike shield ; lay on, Macduff, 
And damned be he that first cries, " Hold, enough ! " 

— Macbeth. 



296 Key to Expression. 

A warrior hung his plumed helm 
On the rugged trunk of an aged elm. 
" Where is the knight so bold," he cried, 
" That dares my haughty crest deride ? " 
The wind came by with a sullen howl, 
And dashed the helm on the pathway foul, 
Aud shook in scorn each sturdy limb, 
For where was the knight could fight with him? 

Burned Marmion's swarthy cheek like fire, 
And shook his very frame for ire, 
And — " This to me ! " he said ; 
" And 'twere not for thy hoary beard, 
Such hands as Marmion's had not spared 
To cleave the Douglas 7 head ! 
And first I tell thee, haughty peer, 
He who does England's message here, 
Although the meanest in her state, 
May well, proud Angus, be thy mate ! 

" And, Douglas, more I tell thee here, 
Even in thy pitch of pride, 
Here, in thy hold, thy vassals near, 
(Nay, never look upon your lord, 
And lay your hands upon your sword), 
I tell thee thou art. defied ! 
And if thou saidst I am not peer 
To any lord in Scotland here, 
Lowland or Highland, far or near, 
Lord Angus, thou hast lied ! " — Scott. 

" Ah, wretch ! " in wild anguish he cried, 
" Erom country — and liberty — torn ! 
Ah, Maratan ! would thou hadst died, 

Ere o'er the salt waves thou wert borne. " 



Key to Expression. 297 

I say thou liest, 
And will maintain what thou hast said is false, 
In thy heart's blood, though being all too base 
To stain the temper of my knightly sword. 

— Shakespeare. 

" Forward the light brigade ! 
Charge for the guns ! " he said ; 
Into the valley of death 
Rode the six hundred. — Tennyson. 

I'll have my bond ; I will not hear thee speak ; 
I'll have my bond, and therefore speak no more. 
I'll not be made a soft and dull -eyed fool, 
To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yield 
To Christian intercessors. Follow not; 
I'll have no more speaking: I will have my bond. 

— Merchant of Venice. 

Still " Onward ! " was his stern exclaim; 
" Charge on the battery's jaws of flame ! 

Rush on the level gun ! 
Each Hulan forward with his lance ! 
My steel-clad cuirassiers, advance ! 
My guard, my chosen, charge for France ! 

France and Napoleon ! " 

Around her form I draw 
The awful circle of our solemn church; 
Set but a foot within that holy ground, 
And on thy head — yea, tho' it wore a crown — 
I launch the curse of Rome. — Lytton. 

" I shall in all my best obey you, madam." 

— Hamlet. 



298 Key to Expression. 

In thoughts from the visions of the night, 

When deep sleep falleth on men, 

Fear came upon me, and trembling. 

Which made all my bones to shake. 

Then a spirit passed before my face; 

The hair of my flesh stood up : 

It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof; 

An image was before mine eyes, 

There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, 

Shall mortal man be more just than God? 

Shall a man be more pure than his Maker? — Bible. 

If thou shouldst in those waters thy diadem fling, 
And cry, " Who may find it shall win it, and wear; " 
God wot, though the prize were the crown of a king — 
A crown at such hazards were valued too dear, 
For never did lips of the living reveal, 
What the deeps that howl yonder in terror conceal. 

— Schiller. 

Then we belted on our tartans, 

And our bonnets down we drew, 
And Ave felt our broadswords' edges, 

And we proved them to be true; 
And we prayed the prayer of soldiers, 

And we cried the gathering cry, 
And we clasped the hands of kinsman, 

And we swore to do or die. — Aytoun. 

If thou dost slander her, and torture me, 
Never pray more : Abandon all remorse : 
On horror's head horrors accumulate: 
For nothing canst thou to damnation add, 
Greater than that. — Othello. 



Key to Expression. 299 

Pity thee? Sol do: 

I pity the dumb victim at the altar; 

But does the robed priest for his pity falter? 
I'd rack thee, though I knew 

A thousand lives were perishing in thine ; 

What were ten thousand to a fame like mine ? 

Yet there's a deathless name, 

A spirit that the smothering vault shall spurn, 

And, like a steadfast planet, mount and burn; 
And though its crown of flame 

Consumed my brain to ashes as it shone, 

By all the fiery stars ! I'd bind it on. 

Ay, though it bid me rifle 

My heart's last fount for its insatiate thirst; 

Though every life-strung nerve be maddened first ; 
Though it should bid me stifle 

The yearning in my throat for my sweet child, 

And taunt its mother till my brain went wild — 

All ! I would do it all, 

Sooner than die, like a dull worm, to rot; 
Thrust foully in the earth to be forgot. — Willis. 

Now, by my faith as belted knight, and by the name I bear. 
And by the bright Saint Andrew's cross that waves above us 

there, 
Yea, by a greater, mightier oath, and 0, that such should 

be!— 
By that dark stream of royal blood that lies 'twixt you and 

me — 
I have not sought in battlefield a. wreath of such renown, 
Xor hoped I, on my dying day, to win a martyr's crown. 

— Aytoun. 



300 Key to Expression. 

Blase, with your serried columns ! I will not bend the knee; 
The shackle ne'er again shall bind the arm which now is 

free! 
I've mailed it with the thunder, when the tempest muttered 

low; 
And where it falls, ye well may dread the lightning of its 

blow. 
I've scared you in the city ; I've scalped you on the plain : 
Go, count your chosen, where they fell beneath my leaden 

rain ! 
I scorn your proffered treaty ; the paleface I defy ; 
" Revenge " is stamped upon my spear, and " Blood " my 

battle cry. — G. W. Patten. 

At last Mac Kyle made answer : " I have sinned ; 
I, and this people, whom I made to sin. 
Now, therefore, to thy God we yield ourselves 
Liegemen henceforth, his thralls, as slave to lord 
Or horse to master. That which thou commandest, 
That will we do." 

But William answered short : 

" I cannot marry Dora ; by my life, 

I will not marry Dora," Then the old man 
Was wroth, and doubled up his hands, and said : 

" You will not, boy ! you dare to answer thus ! 
But in my time a father's word was law, 
And so it shall be now for me. Look to it ; 
Consider, William : take a month to think, 
And let me have an answer to my wish; 
Or, by the Lord that made me, you shall pack, 
And nevermore darken my doors again." 

— Tennyson. 



Key to Expression. 301 

0, agony of fear ! 

Would that he yet might live ! Even now I heard 

The legate's followers whisper, as they passed, 

They had a warrant for his instant death; 

All was prepared by unforbidden means, 

Which we must pay so dearly, having done; 

Even now they search the tower, and find the body, 

Now they suspect the truth ; now they consult 

Before they come to tax us with the fact ; 

0, horrible ! 'tis all discovered ! — Shakespeare. 

Slave, do thine office ! 

Strike, as I struck the foe ! Strike, as I would 

Have struck those tyrants ! Strike deep as my curse ! 
Strike — and but once! — Byron. 

Hear what Highland "Nora said : 
" The Earlie's son I will not wed. 
Should all the race of nature die, 
And none be left but he and I. 
For all the gold, for all the gear, 
And all the lauds both far and near, 
That ever valor lost or won, 
I would not wed the Earlie's son. 

" The swan," she said, " the lake's clear breast 
May barter for the eagle's nest ; 
The Awe's fierce stream may backward turn, 
Ben Cruichan fall and crush Kilchurn; 
Our kilted clans, when blood is high, 
Before their foes may turn and fly; 
But I, were all these marvels done, 
Would never wed the Earlie's son." 

— Scott. 



302 Key to Expression. 

If thou but frown on me, or stir thy foot, 

Or teach thy hasty spleen to do me shame, 

I'll strike thee dead. Put up thy sword betime, 

Or I'll so maul you and your toasting iron 

That you shall think the devil has come from hell ! 

— Shakespeare. 

Never, lago ! Like to the Pontic Sea, 

Whose icy current and compulsive course 

Ne'er feels retiring ebb, but keeps due on 

To the Pro pontic and the Hellespont; 

Even so my bloody thoughts, with violent pace, 

Shall ne'er look back, ne'er ebb to humble love, 

Till that a capable and wide revenge 

Swallow them up. Now, by yonder marble heaven, 

In the due reverence of a sacred vow 

I here engage my words. — Othello. 

Defiance, traitors, hurl we in your teeth. 
If you dare fight to-day, come to the field ; 
If not, when you have stomachs. 

— Julius Caesar. 

Then out spoke brave Horatius, the Captain of the Gate : 
" To every man upon this earth, death cometh soon or late, 
And how can man die better than facing fearful odds, 
For the ashes of his fathers, and the temples of his gods? 

" Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, with all the speed you 

may ; 
I, with two more to help me, will hold the foe in play. 
In yon straight path a thousand may well be stopped by 

three, 
Now who will stand on either hand, and keep the bridge 

with me ? " — Macaulay. 



Key to Expression. 303 

Alack ! I am afraid they have awaked, 
And 'tis not done : The attempt, and not the deed, 
Confounds ns. Hark ! I laid their daggers ready, 
He could not miss them. Had he not resembled 
My father as he slept, I had done it. — Macbeth. 

And there was mounting in hot haste; the steed, 

The mustering squadron, and the clattering car, 
Went pouring forward with impetuous speed, 

And swiftly forming in the ranks of war ; 
And the deep thunder, peal on peal afar ; 

And near, the beat of the alarming drum 
Eoused up the soldier ere the morning star ; 

While thronged the citizens with terror dumb, 
Or whispering with white lips, " The foe ! they come, they 
come ! " — Byron. 

King the alarum bell. Murder and treason ! 
Banquo and Donalbain ! Malcolm ! awake! 
Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit, 
And look on death itself ! Up, up, and see 
The great doom's image ! Malcolm ! Banquo ! 
As from your graves rise up, and walk like sprites, 
To countenance this horror ! 
Banquo! Banquo! — Macbeth. 

Ye call me chief, and ye do well to call him chief who for 
twelve long years has met upon the arena every shape of 
man or beast the broad empire of Kome could furnish, and 
who never yet lowered his arm. If there be one among you 
who can say, that ever in public fight or private brawl, 
my actions did belie my tongue, let him stand forth and say 
it. If there be three in all your company dare face me on 
the bloody sands, let them come on. — Kellag. 



304 Key to Expression. 

Did you not hear it ? No ; 'twas but the wind, 
Or the car rattling o'er the stony street: 
On with the dance ! let joy be unconfined; 
Xo sleep till morn, when youth and pleasure meet 
To chase the glowing hours with Hying feet — 
But hark ! that heavy sound breaks in once more, 
As if the clouds its echo would repeat; 
And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before! 
Arm ! arm ! it is ! — it is ! — the cannon's opening roar ! 

— Byron. 

Friends, 1 come not here to talk, ye know too well 
The story of our thraldom. We are slaves !' 
The bright sun rises to his course and lights 
A race of slaves ; he sets, and his last beam 
Falls on a slave. — M. R. Mitford. 

0, you mighty gods ! 
This world I do renounce ; and in your sights, 
Shake patiently my great affliction off : 
If I could bear it longer, and not fall 
To quarrel with your great opposeless wills, 
My snuff, and loathed parts of nature, should 
Burn itself out. — King Lear. 

Let each man do his best : and here draw I 

A sword, whose temper I intend to stain 

With the best blood that I can meet withal, 

In the adventure of this perilous day. 

Xow, Ksperance ! Percy ! and set on. 

Sound all the lofty instruments of war, 

And by that music let us all embrace : 

For heaven to earth, some of us never shall 

A second time do such courtesy. — Henry IV. 



Key to Expression. 305 

First fear, his hand, its skill to try, 
Amid the chords bewildered laid ; 

And back recoiled, he knew not why, 
E'en at the sound himself had made. 

— Collins. 

Back, ruffians, back ! nor dare to tread 
Too near the body of my dead ! 
Nor touch the living boy. I stand 
Between him and your lawless band ! 

I'll fight 
Till from my bones my flesh be hacked 

— Macbeth. 

He is a hero stanch and brave 

Who fights an unseen foe, 
And puts at last beneath his feet 

His passions base and low; 
Who stands erect in manhood's might 

Undaunted, undismayed — 
The bravest man who drew a sword 

In foray, or in raid. 

Yet, yet endure, nor murmur, my soul ; 

For are not thy transgressions great and numberless ? 

Do they not cover thee like rising floods ? 

And press thee like a weight of waters down ? 

Does not the hand of righteousness afflict thee ? 

And who shall plead against it ? Who shall say 

To power Almighty, Thou hast done enough; 

Or bid his dreadful rod of vengeance stay ?. 

Wait then with patience, till the circling hours 

Shall bring the time of thy appointed rest 

And lav thee down in death, — Bible. 



306 Key to Expression. 

He had bolted the window and barred the doors 

And every nook had scanned; 
And felt the fastenings o'er and o'er 

With his cold and skinny hand ; 
And yet he sat gazing intently round, 

And trembled with silent fear, 
And startled and shuddered at every sound 

That fell on his coward ear. 

Well, I'll find friends to wear my bleeding roses 
That shall mail] tain what I have said is true : 
Ay, thou shalt find us ready for thee still, 
And know us by these colors for thy foes. 

— Henry VI. 

If thou but speak the truth of her, 

These hands shall rear her ; if they wrong her honor, 

The proudest of them shall well hear of it. 

Time hath not so dried this blood of mine, 

Xor age so eat up my invention, 

Nor fortune made such havoc of my means, 

Nor my bad life 'reft me so much of friends 

But they shall find awaked, in such a kind, 

Both strength of limb and policy of mind, 

Ability in means, and choice of friends, 

To quit me of them thoroughly. — Othello. 

sweet and strange it seems to me, that ere this day is done, 
The voice that now is speaking, may be beyond the sun ; 
Forever and forever, all in a blessed home, 
And there to wait a little while, till you and Erne come ; 
To lie within the light of God, as I lie upon your breast, 
And the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at 
rest. — Tennyson, 



Key to Expression. 30V 

Wherefore, I humbly 
Beseech you, sir, to spare me, till I may 
Be by my friends in Spain advised, whose counsel 
I will implore. If not, in the name of God 
Your pleasure be fulfilled. — Henry VIII. 

Yield, mad man, yield ! thy horse is down : 

Thou hast not lance nor shield ; 

Fly ! I will grant thee time. This flag 

Can neither fly nor yield ! — G. H. Bokcr. 

Had I been there with sword in hand and fifty Camerons by 
That day through high Dunedin's streets had pealed the 

slogan cry, 
Not all their troops of trampling horse, nor might of mailed 

men, 
Not all the rebels in the south had borne us backward then. 
Once more his foot on Highland heath had trod as free avS 

air, 
Or I, and all who bore my name, been laid around him 

there. — Aytoun. 

Let come what will, I mean to bear it out, 

And either live with glorious victory, 

Or die with fame, renowned for chivalry. 

He is not worthy of the honeycomb, 

That slums the hives because the bees have stings. 

— Shakespeare. 

Bassanio — For thy three thousand ducats here are six. 

Shylock — If every ducat in six thousand ducats 

Were in six parts, and every part a ducat, 

I would not draw them : I would have my bond. 

— Merchant of Venice. 



308 Key to Expression. 

I jet them pull all about mine ears; present me 

Death on the wheels, or at wild horses' heels ; 

Or pile ten hills on the Tarpeian rock, 

That the precipitation might down stretch 

Below the beam of sight — yet will I still 

Be thus to them. — Coriolanus. 

We gazed, but not a man could speak ! 

With horror all aghast, 
In groups, with pallid brow and cheek, 

We watched the quivering mast. 
The atmosphere grew thick and hot, 

And of a lurid hue, 
As, riveted unto the spot, 

Stood officers and crew. — Golton. 

I grieve for life's bright promise, just shown and then with- 
drawn ; 
But still the sun shines round me, the evening bird sings on, 
And I again am soothed, and, beside the ancient gate, 
In this soft evening sunlight, I calmly stand and wait. 

— Tennyson. 

Come, vial ! 

What if this mixture do not work at all ? 

Shall I be married then to-morrow morning ? 

No no ; this shall forbid it. 

What if it be a poison, which the friar 

Subtly hath ministered to have me dead, 

Lest in this marriage he should be dishonored, 

Because he married me before to Borneo? 

I fear it is ; and yet methinks it should not, 

For he hath still been tried a holy man. 

— Romeo and Juliet. 



Key to Expression. 309 

Yet this is Rome, 
That sat on her seven hills, and from her throne 
Of beauty ruled the world ! Yet we are Romans. 
Why, in that elder day, to be a Roman 
Was greater than a king ! And once again — 
Hear me, ye walls, that echoed to the tread 
Of either Brutus ! — Once again, I swear, 
The eternal city shall be free. 

— Mary Russell Mitford. 

To arms ! they come ! the Greek ! the Greek ! 
Strike — till the last armed foe expires, 
Strike — for your altars and your fires, 
Strike — for the green graves of your sires, 
God — and your native land. 

Yes, 'tis Emilia; by and by — she's dead. 

'Tis like she comes to speak of Cassio's death ; 

The noise Avas here — ha ! no more moving, 

Still as the grave. Shall she come in? Wer't good? 

I think she stirs again. No. What's best to do ? 

If she come in, she'll sure speak to my wife. 

— Othello. 

Ah ! then and there was hurrying to and fro, 

And gathering tears, and tremblings of distress, 
And cheeks all pale, which, but an hour ago, 

Blushed at the praise of their own loveliness ; 
And there were sudden partings, such as press 

The life from out young hearts, and choking sighs 
Which ne'er might be repeated; who could guess 

If ever more should meet those mutual eyes, 
Since upon night so sweet such awful morn could rise? 

— Byron. 



310 Key to Expression. 

So help me God, I ne'er again 

Will touch the poisoned bowl 
Which ruins health and character, 

And steeps in guilt the soul, 
And swells the fearful list of names 

Affixed to Satan's scroll ! 

I am a good knight, and noble, come hither to sustain 
with lance and sword the just and lawful quarrel of the 
damsel, Rebecca., daughter of Isaac of York; to uphold the 
doom pronounced against her to be false and truthless, and 
to defy Sir Brian de Bois Guilbert, as a traitor, murderer, 
and liar; as I will prove in this field with my body against 
his, by the aid of God, of our lady, and of Monseigneur 
Saint George, the good knight. 

" My name," said the knight, raising his helmet, " is 
better known, my lineage more pure, Malvoisn, than thine 
own. I am Wilfred of Ivanhoe." — Scott. 

All honor, then, to that brave heart, 

Though poor or rich he be, 
Who struggles with his better part — 

Who conquers and is free. 
Ite may not wear a hero's crown, 

Or fill a hero's grave, 
But truth will place his name among 

The bravest of the brave. 

Xow, whether it be 

Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple 

Of thinking too precisely on the event — 

A thought, which, quartered, hath but one part wisdom, 

And, ever, three parts coward — I do not know 

Why yet I live to say, This thing's to do. 

— Hamlet. 



Key to Expression. 311 

Remember thee? 
Ay, thou poor ghost, while memory holds a seat 
In this distracted globe. Remember thee? 
Yea, from the table of my memory 
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records, 
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past, 
That youth and observation copied there; 
And thy commandment all alone shall live 
Within the book and volume of my brain, 
Unmixed with baser matter; yes, by heaven 
I have sworn it. — Hamlet. 

Let them come; 
They come like sacrifices in their trim, 
And to the fire-eyed maid of smoky war, 
All hot and bleeding, will we offer them ; 
The mailed Mars shall on his altar sit 
Up to the ears in blood. — Henry IV. 

! I have passed a miserable night, 

So full of ugly sights, of ghastly dreams, 
That, as I am a Christian faithful man, 

1 would not spend another such night, 
Tho' it were to buy a world of happy days, 
So full of dismal terror was the time. 

My dream was lengthened after life — 

! then began the tempest to my soul ; 
With that methought a legion of foul fiends 
Environed me about, and howled in mine ears 
Such hideous cries, that, with the very noise, 

1 trembling waked, and for a season after, 
Could not believe but that T was in hell, 
Such terrible impression made my dream ! 

— Richard III. 



OCT S3 190T 



